The Warriors of Olympus
by Phantos God of Horrors
Summary: Percy returns from a 10 year travel of soul searching as a newly appointed god, one of the tides, weaponry, heroes, and power. With him is a friend, a girl, and looming threat, and a plan to counter. He must hold secrets, stand up against gods, and lead what heroes he can into the fray of enemies, before the power above can consume them all.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to the first chapter to The Warriors of Olympus.**

 **There are many stories out there where Percy joins the hunters in various ways, and even some where Perce starts a group similar to them. This is my version of the latter. But this isn't just "Percy gets his heart broken and vows to follow the path of the hunters and start a group that is opposite in gender." The idea of that didn't progress far in my head. However, this did. Percy will be a smarter and calmer version than that in the novels, but he will be more serious than that in the Betrayed and Forgotten series of mine. This story may or may not become a two parter. It may even branch into a third, but that depends on what I see for it in the future. For now, this is but an introduction two some of our main characters. For those of you who do want to see Annabeth in this, she will be more prominent than she is in my other stories, where she is a character a bit off from the main group they follow. And this will be a Pertimis story, but how they grow will not be in the "she's had a thing for him for a long time" style of these kinds of stories. I'm going to approach it differently than what may be anticipated.**

 **Now that I've revealed enough, have fun plotting out these future chapters for me. I like vague writing, and then revealing it over time, and I'm curious to see what you people believe the threat in this story is. Good luck and good read. What you believe of this chapter will decide on whether or not I actually continue with this story in the future. (I) Hope it's good enough.**

Thalia Grace hummed quietly as she sat on the shore of the lake close by to the Hunters' camp. Any Green Day song that came to mind had its time to shine as best it could as only a sound.

For the daughter of Zeus, the day was abnormally quiet. No monsters were shoving each other aside as they ran to tear her apart. Her mistress Artemis did not ask for her presence, and even allowed her lieutenant to relax near the campsite. Despite how calm the air was, Thalia was mildly scared, for the child of any powerful entity to have a quiet day was never good. Impending doom was usually a follow up to peace and quiet for her kind. The fact that her mistress had not been given hunting assignments from their father in the past week added to the pressure of an anomaly.

Thalia sighed in frustration as she fell backwards and watched the clouds roll by, something she hadn't done often, given her position. Thinking back several years ago, almost a decade, she believed, peace did seem common these days, though not to this extent. Ever since Gaea was defeated, life for Thalia and her friends had calmed down drastically. Minor monster attacks were considered their biggest threat, for they were genuinely all that happened. Both camps, Greek and Roman, lived in peace with one another, though they kept their distances on opposite sides of the county to avoid a skirmish with the potential to grow. The clouds of destruction and despair that shadowed the camps had evaporated thanks to the return of Athena's statue. With the help of Annabeth and the rest of the Athena cabin, with minor help from Hephaestus' children and the two parent deities themselves, Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter were rebuilt, and with it came new physical changes.

All the cabins at the Greek camp were doubled in height, to add a second set of rooms for their Roman siblings or newly found ones. Everything the Argo 2 destroyed at the Roman camp was not only rebuilt, but replaced with sturdier and stronger material, as to deal with attacks better than before. Though distant, the camps stayed in connection, a mutual friendship placed between the two.

Thalia applauded Annabeth for her growth and progress. Out of the seven that flew to Greece, she was the one that matured the most. Though she had been through Tartarus, and that Frank had apparently gone through a sudden growth spurt in the middle of their journey, her humility and pride had died down, and her composure and attitude became more welcoming. The daughter of Zeus, for a short time, wondered how she had grown so fast, until she learned about Percy.

While Jason had gotten glasses and stayed with Piper, Frank and Hazel had survived the whole fiasco, Nico found someone to be with, and even Leo got a girl, the daughter of a Titan, no less, Annabeth and Percy's relationship didn't last long. According to the daughter of Athena, the two saw themselves both going different ways, ones that would draw them apart anyways, and decided to break up. Neither seemed too hurt about it, but Thalia could see that it stung her old friend. Annabeth had even put off dating since then, and had turned down the offer to join the hunt.

She had no idea how Percy felt. Before she could find and confront him about their separation, he had left. According to his father, he went with a friend (and he had to mention it was a male and not interested in him that way so Thalia didn't think he was running away with another person already) on an expedition. She guessed Poseidon knew were his son was, but he refused to tell, opting instead to say that Percy could be anywhere.

Why Percy decided to leave so abruptly was a mystery to the lieutenant of Artemis. He wrote no note, gave no warning, and just up and left without a sound. It made Thalia furious he would do something that seemed so cowardly to her.

She wanted to hunt him down and give him a piece of her mind, but she wasn't allowed; neither her father or her mistress gave her permission to search for him. Zeus said Percy would return, but the god had no idea when. When, and not if, Kelp Head did return, Thalia wouldn't hesitate to jump him.

All these thoughts riled Thalia's anger, and she began to pray for something to come by for her to release her frustration upon it.

As if the gods were listening, which she believed they always were, Thalia jumped to her feet when she heard a bunch of splashing and a gasp for air. Not too far to her left for her to hear, there was a man, waist deep in the lake, wearing a bronze breastplate, gasping for air. Before Thalia could look him over again, his torso plunge back into the water. Seconds later did he reappear above the surface, crawling across the sunken floor to that of which the light touched purely. He flipped himself to his side, facing away from the huntress, throwing up water by the sound of it. As Thalia readied her bow to attack the man in the Hunter's vicinity, the head of another man appeared.

Not too far away from the struggling man was the head of another, with his eyes closed, slowly making its way towards the man in the grass. His body slowly rose from the lake, until he came causally walking out, soaking wet. He wore a stranger uniform, consisting of a big white shirt and a black dress. Thalia was tempted to mock the man for his attire, but seeing as he possibly couldn't hear her from this range, and that she didn't want to shout, she moved quietly towards the two. She needed to release her anger, and she found the perfect targets.

Once a few trees away, Thalia hid and notched a bow at the still standing man. Said man turned to the one lying down and opened his eyes, a stoic expression still covering his face.

"How was it?" the huntress could hear him say.

"One of these days, your sass is going to get you killed." The man on the ground spat out some more water before picking himself up, glaring at the man in the dress when he found his footing.

"What sass?"

"Shut up."

Now with both men on their feet and their bodies facing in her direction, Thalia could get a better look at the two. The man who appeared first wore clothing that represented armor of old. Along with his breastplate, which had bigger arm holes that she thought were necessary, he wore the sandals and skirts Greek warriors use to wear. The sandals strapped around his legs, stopping below his knees, whereas his skirt stopped right above them. On his right side hung a sword, sheathed away in a leather case. His hands and forearms were wrapped in material similar to that around his legs. His hair was short, most likely recently cut, and he wore no facial hair.

The second man, along with his unusual attire, wore no shoes, and by his waist was a long, thin, curved sword, not one commonly carried by Greeks or Romans. His hair was much longer, pulled past his shoulders and tied in a ponytail. He, too, had no facial hair. With the two men facing each other, it was hard to see their eyes. The Greek man wore a harder look compared the calm one plastered on the weird man's face.

As Thalia pulled back to shoot them down, the weird man turned to face her direction. "Hello," he said, before Thalia released the arrow. Not bothering to watch it connect with the target, she spun back around the tree to the other side, grabbing another arrow before releasing it at the other man.

Instead of making contact, two clinking sounds made their ways to Thalia's ears, and her two arrows fell to the ground, at the feet of the two men. Held out in front of the Greek man was a long and thin silver sword, the hilt grasped in the hand of the other man. The two men looked at her through the trees as she tried to compose herself. Now, however, she could see their eyes: brown and green. No, wait; blue. No, green. Thalia couldn't tell the eye color of the Greek-looking man. They seemed interchangeable between the two colors in her mind.

"We mean you no harm," the dress man called out, breaking Thalia out of her thoughts. "We apologize for trespassing; we did not know where we would appear. If you will allow us to take our leave, we will do so in an instant."

The other man, looking down at the two arrows, placed a hand on his friend's chest. "No," he said aloud. "She's one of them." Taking matters into his own hands, he stepped forward, raising his hands. "You are a huntress, correct?"

Thalia notched another arrow in an instant. "What does it matter to you, boy?" she hissed in his direction, putting on her huntress routine.

"I, too, am a demigod," he told her. "I seek council with the Olympians on an urgent matter."

"And why should I believe you?"

"We just walked out of a lake in abnormal attire with swords strapped to our sides, one of which deflected your arrows with ease," the man in the distance reasoned. "If you don't believe we are freaks yet, maybe I should shoot a-"

"J, no." The man closest to Thalia turned to face the now named J. "You are not setting her on fire."

"I wouldn't set her on fire; I'd just singe her hair a bit."

"I'd like to see you try." J turned his head to face Thalia as he sheathed his sword.

"Gladly," he responded, pointing a fist in Thalia's direction. Before anything could happen, the other man moved to his friend and lowered his hand.

"What did I just say? Look." The man turned back to Thalia, her arrow still at the ready. "I swear on the Styx that my companion and I mean you no harm, and we would be grateful if you could guide in the fastest direction to the Mount Olympus here in America." Thalia stood still as thunder rumbled in the mostly clear sky above her. Releasing a growl from her lips, she put away arrow and lowered her bow to her side. The man smiled.

"Thank you. Judging by your appearance as a hunter, I guess that Lady Artemis is not too far from us. May we ask her to bring together the council?"

Thalia pondered his question. Finding an answer, she walked forward and placed a finger on his chest. "If you so as much glance at a huntress-"

"I do not care for woman that way right now," the man interrupted Thalia's threat. "After my last encounter with a woman, I've been avoiding every other girl in that regard. And my friend does not believe in love for himself, nor does he give a shit for anyone."

"I do too give a shit," J pouted in the background.

"Yes, for yourself." The two men stared at each other before J let out an 'mmm' and turned his head in the direction Thalia sat in before they appeared. Sighing, the man turned back to Thalia. "I apologize for my friend; he isn't the best at socializing. Shall we?" Without waiting for an answer, the man turned in the direction J was facing and began walking, his friend right behind. Thalia stood still, trying to comprehend the connection the two men had, before running after and past the two to walk in front of them.

"How did you know which direction my lady was in?" Thalia asked.

"I'm just walking towards the source of the large amount of power," the man reasoned. The three walked in an awkward silence, save for the crunching of leaves and twigs, and the constant muttering from Thalia. She wanted something that would attack her so she wouldn't feel bad about killing it, and it was just in her grasp. Why did this man have to be nice? Why couldn't he have just been a jackass? It would have made this encounter better.

Upon arriving at the borders of the camp, Thalia realized she had yet to learn the name of the man in Greek armor. But before she could ask, the man had walked past her and placed a hand in front of her, gesturing her to stop.

"I'll take it from here," he stated calmly. "All I ask is you call off your sisters if they are to engage me, for I do not wish to fight with any of you." With that, he walked forward, into the center of camp. No other hunters had acknowledged his presence, much to Thalia's surprise. Too bad he announced where he was to the world after only a few steps.

"I seek a council with the Olympian gods and goddesses!" he announced proudly. The hunters nearby hand their weapons at the ready before he finished his sentence, the others coming to their sides. "If you would be so kind as to message the rest of the council, Lady Artemis, I shall be greatly thankful in your assistance!"

Everyone stood silently, the man with his arms raised high as he looked around, the hunters ready to attack him on command, while Thalia and J stood off to the side. After listening to only the wind for many moments, one huntress walked forward, a knife in each hand. Thalia just stood by as Pheobe approached the man.

"You should not be here, boy," she hissed at him, drawing out the last word like venom.

"I didn't have much of a say in the matter," the man replied, lowering his arms.

"What do you want with our mistress?"

"I bring a message, one that all the Olympians need to hear at once. Lady Artemis is the closest around, so I decided to give her a call."

"What leads you to believe my lady would want to talk with filth like you?" To this, the man smiled as though he had won the lottery, and threw his hands in the air again.

"Who doesn't walk to talk with the legendary Perseus Jackson?!" he asked proudly. Several hunters lowered their weapons, and Phoebe even stepped back, because of his announcement. The now named demigod turned to face his cousin who was staring at him with her eyes wide and mouth agape. He flashed her a smile, before calling out, "Hey Pinecone Face," and turning around, looking past Phoebe. "Hello, Lady Artemis."

Each head that wasn't looking in the direction Percy did quickly snapped to see their goddess. Dressed in her usual silver attire, making her way past her hunters, was the goddess of the hunt herself. Percy walked around Phoebe, who looked ready to stab him, and met the goddess half way.

Percy bowed, placing one hand on his chest as he did so, as the two came to a halt. "It is good to see you again, Lady Artemis," Percy told her.

"It is not as much of a pain as I thought it would be to see you again, Perseus," Artemis responded.

"I'm flattered."

"What is it you wish to speak of with the council?"

"A matter for their ears only, yours included."

"What information could you possibly have that is to be heard by our ears only?" Percy looked around at the hunters for several seconds before leaning forward to the goddess's ear, triggering many of the hunters to raise their weapons.

Thalia didn't know how to feel about that man being Percy. She was happy he was back, but he was mad he left. She wanted to hug him for returning, but she wanted to punch him for leaving in the first place. She loved (for lack of a better word) the fact that her cousin had returned to her first, but she hated how he kept his name from her until now.

Thalia paid close attention to her lady's face. The proud look the goddess carried into the area drained from her face as Percy whispered something she wished was bad news into her ear. The demigod and goddess met eyes as Percy pulled away. Though she tried to keep a flat expression, Thalia swore she saw a look of fear in her eyes.

"Thalia," Artemis announced across the camp. "You are in charge of the girls while I'm gone. Make sure everything is packed and ready to go when I return; we will be moving camp elsewhere later."

"Actually, Thalia needs to come," Percy interrupted the goddess. "Phoebe can take her place, but Thalia had to join us." The two talkers stared at one another once again until Artemis nodded.

"Fine. Phoebe, tear down the camp and prepare for departure when I return. Thalia, come with us." Upon hearing her name called, the lieutenant ran across the field to her cousin and sister, J following her at a similar pace. Artemis looked around to see her hunter staring at her, and she ushered them to get to work.

As the hunters walked off, the four remaining characters positioned themselves in a huddle. "I'll teleport us to Olympus," Artemis announced. "Close your eyes." The three did so, Percy doing it with a smile. Thalia wanted to punch him then and there, but held herself back knowing she would have better time to do that later. The lieutenant of the hunt felt her body heat up as her lady turned to her true form, teleporting the four away from the camp.

When Thalia was hit by a strong blast of wind, she opened her eyes to find herself at the bottom of the path leading to the throne room of the gods. Percy and J were standing side by side, gazing over what lined the pathway, while Artemis stood further ahead, gesturing them to follow. The eyes of many nymphs and satyrs followed the four as they made their way up the mountain above the clouds, until the arrived at the doors, and opened them to see the rest of the council already seated. Near the hearth sat Lady Hestia, and conversing with his brother of the sea was Lord Hades. Though still not a part of the Olympian council, Thalia understood why the two of them were present, holding the other two positions of major Greek deities. Artemis made her way to her throne and Thalia continued to scan the thrones, stopping only when Percy placed a hand on her shoulder and pointed to a far corner of the room. Standing there, leaning against a pillar casually, was a young man dressed in all black, eyes closed as he rocked his head to the music playing in his earbuds. Thalia ran over to him, delivering a surprise punch to make him aware of her presence.

Nico rub his shoulder that his cousin had hit. "The hell, Thalia?" he complained. "Couldn't just say hello like a good person?" That comment earned him another punch.

"What, you think I'm not a good person?" Thalia threatened, to which Nico shrugged and backed away. "Besides, what are you doing here?"

"Your father messaged my father to come to Olympus on an urgent matter, and he thought it would be best to bring me along to learn about what was going on as well." Thalia scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.

"But it was Lady Artemis who sent a message out to the Olympians," she told her cousin. "So why would my father be the one to contact yours?" The two contemplated on the matter before Nico turned his attention to the two men at the door. "Who are they?" he asked Thalia. Said girl followed his gaze and furrowed her eyebrows at her cousin. Before she could speak, her father's voice boomed across the throne room.

"Percy Jackson," Zeus called. Said demigod walked forward and bent down on one knee to the king of the gods.

"Lord Zeus," Percy announced, before turning to the god of the seas. "Father." Poseidon smiled down at his son.

"It's good to see you again, Percy," the god said. Father and son nodded at each other before turning back to Zeus.

"I've been told you have news for us to hear," the sky god began. "Our ears are open."

"Thalia and Nico need to step outside first," Percy said. "I would like to speak with them after my friend and I have told you about it. I do not know if you would like the information I have spoken into the ears of others outside of you fourteen."

Zeus leaned back in his throne, looking over his daughter and nephew's unbelieving looks as he pondered Percy's words.

"Let us hear about what you have to say before we decide on that," Zeus offered, which Percy nodded to. The god turned to the other two present demigods. "Daughter, DiAngelo, if you would step out for a moment, and wait outside the doors until noted otherwise."

The two demigods looked ready to protest, but before either could speak, they found themselves flying backwards. Their surroundings went dark, returning seconds later, and the two landed 'gracefully' on their backs. The daughter of Zeus pulled herself of the ground to find herself outside the doors to the throne room, both being closed by J, who simply nodded in her direction, before shutting her out.

A groan had the huntress turn around to see he cousin rub the back of his head as he stumbled to his feet.

"Geez, father, couldn't you have moved us a little less painfully?" Nico complained. No response was given. "And when the hell did Perce return?"

"About 15 minutes ago," responded Thalia. "He appeared in the hunters' camp with his friend. Calls himself J."

"The letter, or the word Jay?"

Thalia opened her mouth to respond, but closed it on further consideration. "He didn't say. He does look weird though, wearing a dress and all."

"He was? I didn't notice. I did notice his sword though. I think it's a Japanese sword." Thalia looked at her cousin in confusion.

"And you would know this, how?"

"Dad made me train with Achilles. Achilles wanted me to train against all kinds of weapons with my own, to learn how each is wielded and used to its full potential, before using it myself. I think a samurai was using that sword when I was training."

"But he was wearing a dress."

"Still did not see that." Nico turned his attention from the ground to the doors in front of him. "What do you think they are talking about?"

"Oh yeah, that's right." Thalia turned around and threw her hand up in frustration. "What the hell, Kelp Head?! Why did you bring me over here, and we can't even hear about it in the first place?"

The son of Hades shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe it's a topic so dark, the facts could put us into a state of shock and fear, and if word was to spread, many would do the same and being to panic over something we might not have to?" The daughter of Zeus turned to face her cousin with a weird look.

"When did you become a nerd?"

"Okay, two things: one, I'm not a nerd, and two, the type of teaching I dislike the most is philosophy. It just drags on and on."

"I almost feel sorry for you."

"And you call yourself a good person." WHACK. "Dammit, Thalia. Stop hitting me."

The demigod and demigoddess stood in uncomfortable silence for several minutes, the only sounds either coming from the work of the folk that lined the pathway to the throne room, or the booms that came from said throne room.

"Why would Percy go to Japan?" Nico questioned out loud, breaking their own silence.

"How would you know he was there?" Thalia asked him in response.

"His friend. If I am to go solely off his sword, I would say Percy and his friend have been in Japan, if not other countries in Asia, for the past decade he has been gone. But he is virtually on the other side of the world from us if he was there. What could Percy possibly be doing so far away from the gods?"

"Discovering his inner female. Percy's friend was wearing a dress, while Kelp Head himself was wearing a skirt."

"He wasn't wearing a skirt. That was old gladiator clothing, worn by men who fought in the Colosseum. The arm holes did seem a bit big though, too big compared to that on regular armor his size."

The sound of creaking drew the attention of the two demigods to the doors to see J opening the way to the council. "You may enter," he told them, and stepped out of the entrance. The two stepped into the surprisingly quite throne room. Upon further inspection, Nico and Thalia could see the sadness of which the Olympians seemed to be carrying. Many of the Olympians wore a look of gloom, their eyes staring into space. Apollo, Hermes, and Demeter seemed to be on the brink of crying, whereas Aphrodite and Hestia already were, the love goddess by her husband and the hearth goddess by the other non-Olympian present.

Percy himself stood in the middle of the room, staring solemnly at Iris-message by his side. On it looked to be a news report, while the imagery being covered was a building going up in flames. It made no sound; the imagery was all it gave. Thalia tried reading the text that scrolled across the bottom of the message, but it was in a language she didn't know how to read. Percy swiped his hand through the message, evaporating it before Thalia could learn any more from it.

"May I tell them the news, Lord Zeus?" The king of the gods broke out of his trance to look at his nephew. He was confused by what Percy said until he noticed Nico and Thalia standing near the entrance.

"You may, nephew," the god responded. "Though I advise you tell them behind closed doors." Percy nodded to his uncle, turned around to see his cousins, and turned right back around after a thought came to mind.

"Uncle." Zeus was prepared to call the meeting over and zap on out, yet directed his attention back to his nephew. "There is something I need to ask of you alone. May I come back here in about an hour's time to speak with you again?" The god pondered Percy's words, taking some time to think before nodding.

"We may speak again. I expect to see you in an hour." With that, Zeus summoned his master bolt and threw it to the sky, the sound of thunder drawing the attention of the rest of the gods. "The council is dismissed. I give you all two hours to mull over what we have learned and come back here in two hours." Summoning another bolt, the king of the gods threw his icon at his feet, disappearing in a zap.

While the rest of the Olympians were leaving in their own ways, Hades, Artemis, and Poseidon were making their way towards the three demigods present in the room. Percy, already knowing what was going to be asked, answered the unvoiced question his uncle and Artemis were to give him.

"I will be with them for about 30 minutes. I have other matters I have to attend to after I tell them and before I come back, so they will be returning to you on their own." Hades held no emotion on his face, and though Artemis did not look pleased, the god and goddess nodded to Percy, who bowed to them respectively, before the two deities took their leave.

Poseidon stood tall, facing his son. Neither walked up to the other, shared a word, or opened their arms for a hug as Thalia was expecting. Instead, the father and son nodded to one another before the god of the sea evaporated into mist, leaving the three cousins alone in the throne room. Percy turned back to his cousins and smiled lightly.

"Now comes the hard part."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello dear readers.**

 **I will first start this off with good news. I'm happy to see the first chapter so well received for a story that will show some similarities, from others, written by others. It's a thought that has been running through my head for a while, and as I did with my other stories, I wrote it out to relax my brain and calm its train of thought. However, in one chapter, it is much larger compared to the first of my previous stories. This next chapter isn't as big, but it holds the content of which I thought it should. As a warning, the action will not be appearing for another few chapters; for now, let's say until chapter 6. A display of our heroes will come by then, if I balance the content correctly. I need to work my way to it comfortably, to me and to the way it reads.**

 **Now onto the bad news. I'm going to be blunt: I dislike my other stories. I do like what goes on in my mind to follow their plot, but I feel as though I have been taking the wrong steps in each chapter to approach these plotlines. I will be discontinuing what I have written. They only updates they will receive will be the notes to warn those who read them. However, I have begun rewriting them in a way the works better in my mind and in text. The build up is going to be different, but I will be following my original ideas. Since _Child of Magic_ was my first story, I will post the true rewritten version of it first. I've already gotten in 5 chapters by the time this is going up, and it will be the story that will differ from it's first form much more than the others. _Betrayed and Forgotten_ and _Red Satoshi_ will both receive their rewrites too, but since _The Beginning_ is getting little traction, I will be scrapping it entirely. Unless asked otherwise, I'm not feeling the motivation to continue it when I can put my focus onto stories people are enjoying to read. My deepest apologies to all of you who read my other stories, and have been waiting for the next chapters, but I am not in the mental state to continue them the way they are now. Hopefully, you will still enjoy what they look like the second time around.**

 **Now, onto this chapter. I have spent about two weeks time writing this. This is actually the second draft of this chapter. I scrapped it half way through and rewrote it to this, since I wasn't liking how I wrote it at first. Side note for this chapter alone: hate me all you want.**

...

Nico looked back and forth between his cousin and Percy's friend, J. The former was currently glaring in the direction of the latter, for a reason or reasons the son of Hades knew not. The latter, however, ignored the former, instead gazing in the door the son of Poseidon walked through moments ago, to find another friend. Even if he never said her name outright, they all knew who Percy was looking for. Not many people reside themselves on Olympus, which was one big factor in determining their soon-to-be company.

Nico had a hard time understanding why Thalia chose to be angrier than worried at a time following the information given to them, of which they swore on the River Styx to never tell without the approval of the Olympian council. During the conversation, Nico could see how frightened Thalia was from the look of her eyes. It was the biggest change in her demeanor when Percy told them. But the son of Hades was much more worried about their enemy, especially since what he could do was greatly hindered against such a foe.

The three continued to sit and stand in silence, all with their minds on different topics, until Thalia opted to speak.

"Mind explaining who the fuck you are?" she asked, an edge to her tone more visible than audible. "You are, for lack of a kinder word and a heart towards you, an ass. You don't come off as someone Kelp Head would be around. Why in hell is my cousin with you?"

Her words worried Nico. J spoke little during their earlier conversation, only adding in small pieces of information when Percy couldn't remember them, or at least was doing his best not to. But J gave off an aura that unsettled Nico, and he had no idea how J would respond to Thalia's harsh sentences.

At first, J didn't respond. He didn't even acknowledge the fact that Thalia had insulted him. He just continued facing the doorway. In Nico's eyes, he was probably holding back his anger. If he had problems with a short temper, than his dear lightning bug cousin may have just started a miniature war.

"I was the one who gave Percy the option to travel and explore the world." J's voice was calm, and he never turned around to face either of the present demigods. It actually worried Nico how little he seemed to express his emotions. "He wished to get out of camp and roam more of the world; being at camp with almost nothing to do was peeving his greatly. As to my personality, Perseus understands the problem I have when I try to interact with others. The reason I acted towards you the way I did when we first met is because I did not know who you were. You attacked Perseus and gained my distrust. If not for Percy, we would have fought, and I know he would not approve of me fighting his friends."

By the end of his speech, he had turned around to look at Thalia with his brown eyes that appeared darker than Nico remembered them being when J and Percy told Nico and Thalia the news. Though his eyes stayed normally open, the stare J was giving Thalia was equivalent to a glare. Before either could burst out and attack, Nico sprang into action.

"What is your name?" he asked J, who turned to look at him immediately. The color returned to J's eyes, and that comforted Nico greatly. "I heard it was J, but do you go by the letter or the word?"

"Letter," J responded. "It's an initial to a name I no longer go by. It reminds me too much of my past, and I am not a fan of my past."

"Okay, I'll make sure never to ask about it." Nico drummed his fingers on the table the three of them surrounded. "Do you have a godly parent?"

"I do not have a godly parent."

"So then you're a clear sighted mortal?"

"No." Nico squinted his eyes at J, whose expression remained unmoved. Before Death Breath could fire off another comment, Thalia started up again.

"Why do you wear a dress?" J turned his attention back to the daughter of Zeus, but his eyes kept their color this time around.

"It isn't a dress. This is a Hakama. It's part of my uniform, and is a traditional Japanese style of clothing."

"Is that where you come from?" J turned back to Nico, who had leaned forward onto the table and was looking up to meet J's eyes. J opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the doors beside him opening. Through them came a black haired, green eyes male and a blond haired, grey (ß I now officially hate this word) eyed female.

Annabeth smiled at her two other friends in the room while Percy locked eyes with J, who had their own wordless conversation, which ended with the shaking of J's head and the nod of Percy's. The architect made her way to Nico to give him a hug, and then to Thalia to give her a bigger one. The huntress and prince greeted the daughter of Athena before Annabeth turned her attention to the man in the room she didn't recognize.

"You must be J," Annabeth stated, to which the man in question nodded. "Percy told me about you on my way here. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And you must be Annabeth Chase," J told her. "Percy told me of you. A daughter of Athena, he said." J blinked as he looked into the blond girl's eyes. "Don't ask me questions."

Annabeth was taken aback by his statement, and more so at how Percy was to defend. "Don't hold his attitude against him," he reassured his old friend. "He isn't fond of talking about his past or himself. There's still much he hasn't told me." His words were followed by a look shared between the two men dressed in their uniforms. J breathed out his nose and leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, going back to what he was mostly doing during the conversation. Percy and Annabeth took a seat on the open sides of the table, leaving one person sitting on each edge of the table.

"So," Percy began, clapping his hands together to draw the attention of his friends, "sadly enough, I do not have the time to spare chatting away with my old friends. I wish I did, but it simply isn't the case. However, I will be returning to camp tonight, though I may not be staying for long. So for tonight, I can guarantee you all some stories of where I've been and what I have been doing."

"What do you mean that you might not be staying?" Thalia questioned, a slight edge to her tone.

"Well that depends on how my meeting with your father goes, Thals," Percy responded. "If it goes the way I believe it will, then I'll probably be around longer before I head off to complete some tasks involving this new threat."

"Wait," Annabeth cut in. "You're going to try and take him on yourself? You can't just do that without help."

"I never said I was going to fight him. I know that won't work. We won't be able to defeat him or his army like this; not the way we are now. What I have to do will be able to help up in the long run, and hopefully it will be enough. Also, it's not that I don't want your help. What I will be doing will not require your help. Your assistance, and three of you, will be needed elsewhere, to do other things. It may be a while until we really start working together, but we will eventually. You can pester me then about not spending enough time with you guys." Percy gave them a small yet genuine smile, which they did return.

"We need to hurry," J interrupted them. Percy turned to his companion and nodded.

"Of course." Turning back to his friends, Percy gave them another smile. "Sorry about this, guys, but I have a meeting with a god to attend. I'll see you all at camp?" Looking around, Nico and Annabeth nodded, while Thalia hesitated.

"I am unsure if Lady Artemis will allow me to head out from the hunt's camp, but I'll see if she will allow me to visit my cousin to punch him a few times as his return present." Percy chuckled at her comment.

"As long as you can make it, Pinecone Face."

"I'll make sure to, Kelp Head."

Smiling at Thalia, Percy stood up and leaned over the table, extending his hand to Nico. The two shook hands, and then Percy walked over to Annabeth and gave her a quick hug, before gesturing J after him as the two men left the room.

...

Zeus sat patiently, somewhat slanted on his throne as he rested his chin on his hand.

The news his nephew gave him was worrisome, no doubt about it. There was little chance of winning, such as long as one of the few options of approaching the enemy worked. And those turning out in their favor were small in chance, too. The king of the gods rubbed his temple, poking at the remaining essence of Athena in there.

The loud creaking of the throne room doors opening drew Zeus' attention away from the horrific math going on inside his head. Approaching him were his nephew and the man that accompanied him. Once they were close enough, Percy fell to one knee and bowed, while J stood straight and inclined his upper body towards the god in front of them. Not the usual bow, but it was a bow all the same, so Zeus made no argument.

"Rise, Perseus." The son of Poseidon did just that, and J straightened his body back to his full height. "It is good to see you here on time, but I will be cutting ahead to the reason you asked me to meet with you."

Percy gave his uncle a smile. "Of course," he began. "With our new enemy rising, J and I have been mulling over our options. The best solution we came to in preparing to face their army is to start a group of soldiers." Zeus raised an eyebrow at Percy; this was not what he was expecting to hear. "The idea of it originates off of the Hunters of Artemis, but it is, in no way, a carbon copy of their group. It is more of an intense form of training and assembly of demigods. Their choice of weapons and style will be up to each individual. If you allow this to form, I wish to watch over them and lead them into fighting and breaking apart the small groups of monsters forming to join our true enemy, along with facing against a few other parts of the army that approaches."

Zeus leaned back in his throne, straightening his back as he looked down at his nephew. "What else do you wish for them?" he questioned.

"The reason I have stated it originating from the Hunt is because of recruitment and the partial immortality. I will approach both camps and ask for the assistance of any demigod who wishes to raise their blade along mine. And I do wish to give them an immortality blessing similar to what the hunters have, though it won't be the same. They may only die in battle, but they will still age according to regular time. The requirement to join will be swearing loyalty to Olympus, which, if broken, will result in their death. The options to join and leave are open to everyone. I do not wish for this to be gender based; there is no reason for it to be."

The throne room went silent. Zeus mulled over the offer, looking over at both Percy and J, who stared right back at him. "Let's say I allow the formation of this group," the god began. "To lead it, you would have to be a god." Percy frowned at his comment.

"You don't know?" His question wasn't taunting, but he was genuinely curious. "I thought you would have been informed." Zeus squinted at his nephew. "I already am a god. During my travels, the fates themselves met with me and ran me through the procedure. I assumed the fates would have told you, or you would have felt the surge of my power when it happened. I guess being in another country was enough to keep you in the dark. I apologies on that, Lord Zeus."

"There is no need for you to apologize. What are you the god of, exactly?" Percy smiled at his uncle again.

"I am the god of power, heroes, and loyalty. Another reason this group has been in my mind."

"I see." The king of the gods began thinking hard about Percy's request. "The council would have to come to a majority vote for me to allow this. I cannot just make this without informing them."

"Actually, my lord, we have already met with many of the Olympians. We ran this idea by them before we officially returned. My father, Apollo, Hermes, Ares, Hephaestus, Athena, Aphrodite, Demeter and Hera have agreed it is a good idea. I did not approach Dionysus or Artemis. I had enough in favor to avoid having to meet that last two, though I do not know what their answers would be. All that is left is your seal of approval."

"You've been in contact with other members of the Olympian council?"

"Yes, but only recently. These past three days, I have been contacting them, and have been asking them to be quiet. I wanted my official return to be a surprise to my friends."

"I see." Zeus turned his attention to the roof of the throne room, while Percy and J glanced briefly towards one another before turning their attention back to the king. "I shall allow the formation of this group Perseus, under the rules and restrictions you have asked for." Percy beamed at his uncle before bowing deeply.

"Thank you, Lord Zeus."

"Just call me Zeus, Percy. You are one of us now, and by the sound of your titles, a great one to have among us." The god of heroes rose and gave his uncle another smile. "When and how will you recruit demigods into your ranks?"

"I'll be heading to Camp Half-Blood soon and staying the night, and I will call for an assembly to ask for volunteers in the morning. I'll head to the Romans later tomorrow to do the same. If we are lucky, we will have a few dozen demigods ready to train in four days."

"That would be good." Zeus turned his attention to from Percy to J, who tensed as their eyes met. "I would like to more about you companion, nephew. He has not spoken during either meeting. Who is he?"

Percy turned to get a good look at his friend. The god could see the unnatural tint of red growing in his eyes, and the veins in his arm and neck glowing faintly. One hand griped his sword's sheath violently, while his other was soon to draw blood from its palm. J looked away from Zeus to meet Percy's eyes, a silent conversation sparking between the two.

In a matter of seconds, J calmed down. The red drained from his eyes and his skin lost its glow. His muscles relaxed and his head turned to face the marble floor below him, though his eyes closed to help calm his blood. Percy breathed out his nose; no choice in stalling the inevitable now.

Turning back to his uncle, Percy began to explain: "His name is J. And before you think otherwise, he has already sworn himself to protect Olympus, so please do not think of him as a threat."

...

 **Guess who J is all you want; you will not be correct. I guarantee it. You won't know him for another 10 chapters. *laughs evilly***


	3. Chapter 3

**Since I am not really at my computer for this upload and I'm short on time to address the problem that is my consistency, I'll be saving that for the next chapter. Consider this a part one, and the next part two, which I'll either make its own chapter or just edit and add onto this, and with it will come my statement on the future of this and my other stories for those who care.**

J watched from his perch as the monsters passed him. He was lucky enough to know a few things, along with a method to mask his scent from monsters entirely. It was a method that took years, but he was patient enough to get it done.

The pack of Hellhounds was small, but it was just what he was looking for. This pack had places to be, and J was going to stop them during their travels.

Slowly, he stood on his branch, careful not to make a sound. He unsheathed his sword cautiously, and held the blade in front of him. Taking a moment to breathe, J jumped into the air, spinning forward as he did so, before landing beside a Hellhound and chopping down through it's neck. The rest of the pack jumped and barked and growled at him and began to circle him as the two pieces of their member collapsed to the ground and dissolved into a fine golden dust. J himself stood slowly, keeping his sword pointing forward from his waist. One of the Hellhounds pawed at the ground before charging the Hakama-clad man.

J did not flinch. He did not jump back. He did not step back. He stood his ground. He turned on the balls of his feet and thrusters his sword through the approaching Hellhound's skull before it could jump him. That beast, too, drifted away in the wind as a breeze of gold dust.

The rest of the pack attacked together, charging J from every direction, but he took it with a grain smaller than their brains. Each monster went down from a slice, swing, or stab of the man's blade, until all that was left was him and a ring of golden sand.

J didn't know what he felt of his work. He didn't feel sad or glad with each monster he killed. He didn't think what he was doing was wrong, but he felt no thrill from the fighting as the warriors around him did. He thought of himself as something of an assassin, although a lot livelier and not for hire.

J made his way back to the camp Percy had told him so much about during their travels. They never had enough time to go and visit, in both of their opinions, but J never complained about missing the opportunity every passing down.

The two fighters had been relaxing at the beachside of the camp, where surprisingly to Percy, no one was at during their visit. Save the two of them, the shoreline was bare down to its natural resources. Percy used the water to relax and meditate, and J was doing the same before Percy felt the presence of the monsters and gave J the green light to eliminate them. As J returned to the beach, he could see Percy had yet to move from where he was last left.

J did not call out to Percy to tell him the job was done. If he could sense the monsters' presence, then he could sense their absence too. Instead, J went back to where he was meditating, out on the beach several feet away from the shore, directly behind the even further Percy. J watched his leader look out into the vast waters and guessed the demigod was thinking of how to reintroduce himself.

"You could always blow up a cabin," J yelled out to Percy, who in response turned to raise an eyebrow at the other fighter. "Maybe it would impress them and get the newer ones to admire you."

"The newer ones would think I'm attacking the camp and the ones I do know would attack me in response," Percy called back. "I'm not that big of an idiot."

"Define big."

"Shut up."

J always knew what to say, though his tone didn't express that he felt connected to his words. J lost a lot of expressions aside from anger and mild surprise. The latter was the one he used the most and that people took him for. J once smacked Percy upside the head for referring to his as Spock because of his expression, but all it got was a breath of a laugh out of J following Percy's over dramatic reaction to the hit.

"When do you plan on presenting yourself?"

"Dinner, whenever that comes around. I know we still have some time. What do you think their reactions will be?"

"Vast, expected, and completely justified."

Percy chuckled and took control of the water to push himself back to shore. "It's been 10 years, and I still get the feeling you don't like talking with me."

"I don't like talking in general. Fighting with and beside you is much better."

"What about eating?"

"Debatable."

Percy laughed louder than either of the two were expecting him to. "You say that like a debate is ever something you'd partake in." J just shrugged back.

"I could try. I always find my actions to be louder than my words."

"Says the should-be-a-ninja-instead-of-the-samurai-he-is-now." Percy sat himself down beside his companion.

"Wow. How original."

"I new you always liked my work."

"It gets stale after 10 tries to be funny."

"Fuck you too."

The distant sound of a horn caught the attention of both swordsman, turning their heads around towards the main campgrounds. "That would be dinner, J. Let's properly introduce ourselves, shall we?"

"At least one of us will."

"That's the spirit."

J's experience with people was near nonexistent. Aside from Percy, their daughter, and the occasional god and goddess, J didn't have people to talk to. No family waiting for him, no friends to hang out with, a boss to work for, a lover to spend his days with, and the most depressing, no pet to play with. Interactions just weren't something J did.

The single lettered man stood to the side as Percy lead and governed all meeting and conversations. He was the leader of a war, and J had no experience to counter his words. It taught Percy that which J had never experienced, but J never thought himself of lacking.

With the campers, however, neither of them seemed to have the words to speak. People had clambered to the dining hall quickly, leaving the two warriors to themselves as they made way, but left them standing out amongst the crowd at the entrance upon arrival. Most chatter stopped once people started sighting and pointing them out and whispered chatter ensued. Percy stood gazing the crowd silently, a smile on his face he usually saved for another, J noted. As for J, he took his time to gaze through them too, picking out those most interesting. By far, the centaur and god at the big table stood out them most to him, as the most recognizable from Percy's tales. Chiron and Dionysus acted like most of the crowd staring over at the two but unlike the rest showed less fear. J was genuinely surprised to see Dionysus grin, something he was told happened as often as fighting Kronos did.

In the campers, J could identify the three demigods he met earlier, each at their own table. The daughter of war and the twin thieves stood out too, alongside the power couple that Percy joked almost rivaled his old one. J looked to the rest and found no one of interest, at least for the time being.

Percy made his way over to the big table, and to Chiron most importantly. He stopped close to the ancient being and spoke in a hushed volume. Most campers had armed themselves quickly against the two newcomers but Percy's friends from earlier were doing their best to halt their assault. J stood, staring back into the eyes of many campers, waiting to see which one would snap first.

Chiron was surprised, to put it lightly, when two odd men clad in attire unlike everyone around them walked up to the dining hall and silenced the crowd of campers near entirely. Even the god of wine beside him made no comment on the strange arrivals.

The old trainer took his time analyzing the two new men. The bearded man in armor, with a sword and shield on his back caught his attention the most. His stature was balanced, his armor polished, his build noteworthy, and his expression fascinating. For a man dressed like a warrior his face was one of happiness and sadness when staring out at the tables of godlings. His eyes weren't focused on a particular person; they seemed to drift into the space beyond them, looking at or for something that wasn't there in the crowd. When he turned to face Chiron, the centaur took note of his eyes. The green of them were bright, the emotions still the same. The eyes reminded him of someone, and then the god that gave him life. And it was the smile the man gave that jolted his memory of the young boy holding a monster's horn as his friend dragged him into the camp.

Percy walked his way up to his old teacher, under the gaze of most of the campers, satyrs, and naiads that weren't eyeing J with suspicion. He stopped his motion in front of Chiron, gesturing a finger for the centaur to lean over, which he did. Percy leaned to meet him and kept his head on the opposite side of Chiron's from the tables of campers.

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Chiron," Percy spoke in a hushed voice. "Sorry I have come back so abruptly and on short notice."

"Think nothing of it," Chiron responded in equal volume. "I'll have time soon to talk with you about what you've been up to these past few years, correct?" Percy smiled and nodded.

"Tonight, after dinner and a campfire, I'll talk with you. Maybe a few of my friends if they want to join us. I don't want to interrupt a good meal."

"And what of your friend?" Chiron darted his eyes to the long haired man at the entrance, eyes glazed over as he stared at the campers.

"He can introduce himself in a bit later. His name is J. And I do mean the letter itself. He likes to go by it. You two can have a heart to heart if you so wish." Chiron chuckled under his breath at his old student.

"I'm pleased to know your still as light hearted as ever, young Perseus. Not too many others share your attitude."

"What can I say? Not too many others are me. I'm just happy to know I've burned a memory of me in your head already. It helps my ego."

Crashing, yelling, and ruckus drew the attention of the student and teacher as J now stood glaring at the campers with an arm extended in a fist, pointed at a woman knocked over into the arms and back of other campers still seated at their table. Her expression showed one of fury, and J's has one to match.

"No, Clarisse, don't do that," Percy mumbled to himself before dashing at the two to stop them.


	4. Chapter 4

**So this chapter is unfinished, but i'll just make what I had planned for the rest as its own chapter, just so i can get a few messages out to those who follow this story, my other stories, and this account in general. I have barely been posting anymore, and I get that. It's been bothering me a lot recently, along with several other things. Life on my end has been a bit stressful, and it grows more and more as things go on. I've been struggling to piece things together to make things better, and this is going to be the start, though it will change in time.**

 **First and foremost, this story is going to continue to be updated. It's by far my most favorite, but that has less to do with substance than it does with style. The other stories I've posted, I posted to get stuff off my chest and out of my head, and moving forward in life, I've come to hate what they are. I want them to be better, and this story is where I've seen my writing improve.**

 **So, building off of that, I am going to be reworking all of my previous stories, par one of them just because it wasn't getting any traction and I myself have grown distant from it the most. It will also help lessen the load on my shoulders this year. The others are going to be revisited and rewritten, with new stories to take their place for a while before i decide to delete the old ones, just so followers can move to the updated stories and not lose their notifications.**

 **Finally, just to bring something else to light, I am going to try other things relating to stories and "literature" as I sludge forward in life, and if you enjoy how I write here in these stories, I'll make sure to share the other works so you have more to enjoy. I find life pointless without something to entertain us from reality, so I might as well help others find the same peace that I do.**

 **Thank you for being patient and understanding on this whole, messy ordeal. I hope you continue to enjoy this story and others to come.**

* * *

J looked down at the daughter of the war god with malice and hatred. Had she shut up after her proposition to a fight, he wouldn't have had the reason he did to punch her in the chest, sending her back into the table of whatever godlings were closest to them. His hand had stayed outstretched after the punch and the other clasped onto the hilt of his sword without tearing away his gaze.

Clarrise physical showed much more aggression as she got back on to her feet and took her spear in hand. Her trusty weapon crackled wit electricity that could have danced around her sneer. "So that's how you wanna do it, huh?" she snarled out before lunging for his chest. J responded by pulling his sword out of his sheath.

Neither got near each other as another force came in between the two and put them to a halt. Percy winced slightly at the electricity of Clarisse's spear and gripped J's arm tighter as he tried to fight against Percy's hold. "Both of you stand down!" Percy ordered at them, his voice gaining volume over the other campers' outburst to J's actions.

Clarisse wore a face of anger as her attention shifted from one man to the other. "Don't order me around, you nobody!" she yelled in response. Percy turned quickly to face her.

"I said stand down!" His increased volume and growing ferocity made Clarisse flinch, just enough for Percy to shove her spear to the side and turn his whole body to face J, using his now free hand to grab J's other before he could raise it any higher.

"J, I said stand down, and you will stand down." Percy lowered his volume to J, still loud enough for the people closest to the to hear.

J made no response with his voice. His hands and arms flexed, gripping his sword tighter and pushing against Percy's grip, but to no avail of breaking free. His eyes darted up to meet Percy's, and Percy's down to meet his.

"You will stand down, that is an order."

J leaned his head forward, only to be met by Percy's as their staring contest continued. Percy could feel J's body heat up, and the steam forming from where his hands held J's arms.

Clarisse stared at the two questionably with the other campers, her rage lower but still present. "What, too afraid of your bitch boy getting hurt?" she taunted before taking a step forward to attack them both.

Instead, she collapsed, down on her hands and knees, her weapon heavy in her hands. A pressure has been applied to the air around her, and she couldn't find herself moving up to challenge it. Her head began to hurt and her stomach turn. Her eyes moved slowly up to see the two men in their stale mate, steam and light faintly emanating from them. Her eyes then moved to the other campers close to her to find them on their feet, paralyzed in place and unable to help the war demigoddess on her feet.

"You are not to engage her in combat, do you understand?" Percy growled between his teeth at his companion. J let out a growl from his throat, keeping his gaze against Percy's. "Do not make me put you down."

Before Chiron or any other camper could intervene, J dropped his head. His body cooled and the steam stopped emitting from his body. Both his arms dropped to his sides and his sword clicked back in to the sheath. Percy released his arms and stepped back to let J turn away and walk off.

"Head to the amphitheater and campfire to cool off," Percy announced to him. "I'll meet you back over there later." J nodded his head softly in response, refusing to use his own voice.

The demigods around Percy gasped for air as the pressure on the disappeared. Clarisse in particular struggles to her feet, having a hard time finding her own breath after the stand off between the two men. It was Percy who grabbed her by the arm and hauled her to her feet, but refused to let go. He turned to address the rest of the campers, many of which were looking at him in fear.

"Carry on with your meals," Percy announced. "I'll see you all again at the campfire." He then proceeded to drag Calrisse away from the dining hall, despite her protests and the weary looks of other campers, Chiron included.

Nevertheless, Chiron decided to side with Percy for the time being. "Back to your meals and table, everyone!" he announced, stomping his hoof on the floor to capture their attention.

Clarisse was doing her best to struggle out of Percy's grip but the pressure exerted on her just moments ago was still leaving her drained. He stopped pulling her along once the two were several yards away from the dining pavilion. Percy made no effort to hide them or take her somewhere privet. He saw no reason for them to be. The war demigoddess nearly fell over again when Percy let her go, but she still managed to keep her footing and face him again. "The hell is your problem?" Percy raised his eyebrow slightly, surprised to see that his old "friend" hadn't lost her attitude.

"Is that any way to treat a friend, War Girl?" Percy asked.

"You're not my friend," Clarisse snarled back in response.

Percy took on an expression of fake heart break. "What, does the beard ruin ol' Kelp Face's face that much you don't recognize me?"

Clarisse's expression dropped quickly, changing from aggression to surprise in a near instant as she began to actually take in the man in front of her. "Prissy?" she asked in disbelief.

Percy turned his head to face the pavilion and wiped a thumb across his chin. "Nice to see you too, Clarisse. Shame it couldn't have started on better terms."

"Holy Hades is that really you?" He turned back to his old rival to still her still struggling to accept what she was given.

"Yeah, it's me. In the flesh. And armor."

"What the hell.. when did you-" Percy placed both his hands on her shoulders, cutting her off with his own words.

"Look, I'll explain more at the campfire, and maybe at the Big House meeting later, but right now, I need you to tell me what you told J."

* * *

Chiron kept his eyes on Percy and J as the campers began to take their seats at the fire. The two men stood on the other side of the fire, in their own heated discussion that the flames overpowered to everyone else. Percy was the more active of the two, constantly turning and gesturing with his hands as he talked, whereas J faced and kept his gaze on the fire, his lips moving less often compared to Percy's.

Chiron was unsure of how the campers would react once their suspicions on who they were would be confirmed or denied. Many campers present were new, and had only heard stories about him. Some were even from the Roman camp, in the same boat as the youngest campers. Percy still had many of his old friends filling up the other seats, and Chiron hoped they could at least maintain their composure until later.

The fire beside the two men died down as their talk came to and end and made their separate ways around the fire to the other side. Percy and J turned to face the crowd of campers, whose hushed discussions died down in response to their focus. Percy looked among the crowd, spotting out all the familiar faces from his past and smiling in their directions one after another, giving a small nod to his two cousins and ex-girlfriend as he spotted them again. J, instead, stood still with his eyes closed and his head bowed, ignoring the crowd of people in front of him.

"Hello," Percy announced, finally catching everyone's full attention. The son of the sea took a deep breath; not often did he talk in front of crowds of people. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. My sincerest apologies for the ruckus earlier. It was not our intention-" he gestured to himself and J beside him, "-to make you feel uncomfortable or attacked. What J did was what he thought of as his best course of action in self defense. Neither of us mean to make enemies out of any of you."

Percy took the moment to let that sink into people's heads. While the self defense part was a lie, he did want to be on good terms his first day back to camp.

"Let me introduce myself," Percy started up again, taking a step forward to the crowd slowly. "My name is Percy Jackson." Almost immediately did people start talking again to one another, though still in hushed volumes. "I am the son of Poseidon, and the same Percy Jackson who use to go to camp here, at Camp Half-Blood. I have been traveling with my dear friend here, J. He and I have been sightseeing and training together and I felt I've been far from home for too long. It's a pleasure to see how much this place has grown over the years."

Then he had nothing to say. He didn't know what to say, nor did the many campers in the stands. The only one who found the words was Chiron.

"Perseus, is there something else you wish to mention?" Percy turned to his old mentor, mildly surprised at what Chiron could be referring to.

"I have a lot to tell, but I don't know where to start," Percy responded with a small smile. J sighed and stepped up, patting Percy's chest with the back of his hand.

"Let me help you with that," he breathed out, sounding bored and annoyed, for reasons Percy didn't know why. J stepped past his friend and closer to the stands, before turning back around and getting down on one knee.

"All hail Lord Perseus," J announced as he bowed, much louder for everyone else to hear. "God of the tides, weaponry, heroes, and power."

"Minor god, mind you," Percy mumbled under his breath. He gazed over the crowd to find all their faces stunned, even his old friends and his mentor too. "What he says is the truth. I am now a god."

People began to rise and bow to Percy, all uncertain of how to act in this new situation. Chiron was much more accustomed to it all, but even he had his troubles processing the information that young Perseus had become what he turned down years ago. Percy, too, was uncomfortable with all the bowing, even with his friends not hat much older than him, but he said nothing to stop them. He knew the other gods would make a ruckus about his humility, especially his own father.

"Thank you all, but you don't have to do that too much, please. Still getting use to the whole...thing." Percy let out a small chuckle as campers rose slowly, probably confused as to why a god did want to be bowed to. Percy only hoped they would come to understand.

"And while we're doing introductions, this is J." Percy gesture to his bowed friend, who chose not to move from his position. "He was my companion as we traveled. However he is not a god like me. He is, however, my right hand man and my first champion." The fire behind Perseus shot up above the now announced god, startling him slightly. "God dammit J, stop that."

The fire died out and J raised his head towards his patron. "I thought it would help with the dramatic flair," J stated, almost innocently. Which is impossible for J to be, the ass.

"And yet you didn't do it for me. Kinda selfish, don't ya think?"

"You were announced as a god and I bowed when saying it off. I'm not feeding your ego more by giving you that to."

"No, it's fine, I understand." Percy rubbed away a fake tear. "You don't love me anymore. You're leaving me, for someone else, aren't you?"

"That requires me to have loved you in the past." J stood back up and took his position by Percy's side again.

"Fuck you too," Percy whispered to his friend before turning to face the campers along with J. "Now that the introductions are out of the way, and I do apologize that this is such a short talk, but I wish for the cabin counselors, assuming those haven't been done with yet, to come into the Big House for a meeting. The rest of you may return to your cabins for the night." Percy turned to face Chiron. "Are the harpies sill active?"

"Not as night patrol in the camp."

"Great. Never mind then." Percy turned back to the stands. "You who do not have to come to the meeting may roam freely to the camp and return to your cabin upon demand from your counselor or Chiron." Without waiting for their responses, Percy turned and left towards the Big House, J tailing behind, leaving Chiron to deal with the crowd of campers.

The centaur stomped his hooves on the ground, the echoing catching the attention of the campers now onto him before they could disperse wildly. "Counselors, come with me to the Big House. Campers, please stay within the cabin boundaries until you are to return to your respective cabins. Have a good night." He gestured to the counselors to move to him, as everyone got up and left to chat over and think about the announcement of their new godly member, and took the small count of campers to the Big House to discuss with Percy on whatever matters he was still hiding from them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so, I understand this chapter is a bit short. I get that. This is what I was gonna tag on to the end of the last chapter, getting it closer to 4000 to 5000 words as I would like to get out per chapter. That amount feels the most balanced and satisfying to work with. I just wanted to get it out once i finished it and made sure it's what i wanted it to be before being read.**

 **And I also understand that the explanations given by Percy might be a bit confusing to wrap your head around, and I will answer any and every question concerning them that comes my way following this chapter. If there is one I plan on including in the story, it will be separate from the answer sheet I'll pin on to one of the future chapters. I will make sure to flesh out as much of Percy's plan as I feel I must. Some of this will stay under wraps and be brought to light as the story moves forward, but I will answer any questions of confusion that come my way. Thank you for enjoying and supporting this story.**

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Percy looked across the ping pong table, at the many faces who surrounded it now. He remembers many of them, more grown up than he last saw them, but there were now many more faces surrounding the tables. He couldn't tell if they were all for individual cabins or if some were representatives of more than just one cabin. He'd ask Chiron about that later, on how the old trainer managed with all the new cabins and children of all the gods.

Percy decided not to take his seat in place of Poseidon's cabin. No other siblings existed to take his place around the table, so J took his seat to represent the sea son instead. Percy, on his part, stood beside Chiron, who had taken seat in his magical wheelchair of hiding horse-sized bodies, at the head of the table. He didn't like taking up the offers godhood gave him, but for the matter at hand it only seemed right to take place at his trainer's side.

The campers were in a frenzy, discussing back and forth with one another beside them or across the table from them about various things, the god in their presence being one talked about in hushed tones. Percy didn't mind their unease; he understood well the feeling of a god in his presence in the past.

Percy was dragged out of his observations as Chiron slammed his hand on the table, drawing the attention of all the campers and bringing their conversations to a halt to start a new one. The centaur gazed along the faces of all the campers, making sure all were focused on him now. And aside from J who kept his gaze at the ceiling silent, all heads had turned to him.

"Good," Chiron began, leaning back in his wheelchair. "Perseus, would you like to start? I think you have more to say than I do here." Percy smiles down at his mentor and nodded, taking his attention to the table surrounded by campers.

"First, let us leave whatever questions you have for me until after I've said what I want to," Percy told those surrounding the table. "Then I'll answer what I can. First and foremost, I wish to indulge you all in an offer I have been given permission to make." This statement rose eyebrows from around the ping pong table, even some from the friends he recognized.

"Lord Zeus has given me the permission to open up a new camp, one my partner and I will be in charge of. He is allowing us to open up an advanced camp that teaches more than just fighting and other activities taught here, but will also offer something a lot more open compared to the education and life opportunities compared to those at Camp Jupiter. The placing of the camp itself will be somewhere else, to allow for a more diverse setting. It is nice here and all, I do admit, but I wish to show more of the world to you all, so we will be moving it elsewhere. There is an age limit to who is allowed to come to the new camp, since what is being offered is for those of age to be moving forward in life, and joining the camp is optional. You are not forced to attend or move to this camp if you are old enough; depending on your life here in state or your family situation, you may stay here instead. All privileges and housing and catering is going to be offered, similarly to how it is here at Camp Half-Blood.

"Training will be more diverse and intense, but the teaching itself will be applied to more outer world focuses, and of a higher education level. You will be taught what you need to know to apply it to the world around us without having to attend a college if you choose to join. As things go on, several of you will be appointed as 'teachers,' or more accurately instructors, for those around you when assistance is asked of you. You won't be told to do too much, don't worry about that; we will make sure you're only doing as much as you're best at doing and can manage."

Percy took a pause to look over at the faces in confusion, sighing and placing a hand on his head. "Yes, I understand it is a bit confusing," Percy confessed. "This is the first time I've really said this out loud to a larger group of people, and phrasing it the way I did to acknowledge you and not what it meant to the gods. To save myself the trouble, I will allow you to ask me your questions now, about both my offer and anything else that may be troubling your mind." Several hands immediately shot up, and it took the sea spawn a second to process before he choose someone. His first choice was a girl several seats down on his left. "You first. And I don't think we've met. To all of those I haven't met before, please introduce yourself by name and representative. I'd like to get to know you all."

The girl nodded and lowered her hand. "Cathy Green, representative of the Demeter cabin. You said there was an age requirement but you never did specify what that requirement is."

"Oh, right. Sorry." Percy rubbed a hand on his forehead. "Age minimum is going to be 16. I understand not everyone has the same situation as those around them as to what life outside of camp is like, but your summer camp will be accommodating to the ages of those allowed in, to mix your future as a demigod with your future as a member of society. If you have parents to return to outside of the summer, I do recommend contacting them and telling them of your new situation. Also, mobility will be offered. Transportation to camp will be supplied on our behalf for those of you with families stationed in other states. Next." Percy pointed to a boy several seats further down on the same side.

"Jake Kaleson, representative of the Hephaestus cabin. Where, exactly, is this camp supposed to be located? How do you already have a place for us before you got the permission to run this camp?"

Percy smiled and bowed slightly in the boy's direction. "I'm happy you think so highly of me to assume I was prepared ahead of time. Actually, this was something my partner here and I have been working on for a few years now. We've had a base of sorts larger enough to turn into a training ground, and we've conversed with the gods separately to gain their approval and respect to make this all happen. Lord Zeus was the nail in the coffin, which we only got recently, and I'm happy we did. Yes, you next." Percy pointed down the table to Clarisse.

The daughter of Ares growled slightly. "Who the Hades is he?" she asked, pointing across the table to J, still in his position looking up.

"Can you please stop using my dad's name like that?"

"No."

"This is J," Percy began, gesturing to the man in question. "He's been my guide and company of sorts to help me find what to do and where to go. Most of what we did was his idea, and I only took charge closer to the end of our time away from here."

"Who is his godly parent?"

"I don't have one." Clarisse looked away from Percy after her second question, now focusing on J who had responded and lowered his head to look at her. "I've already given my response to Percy's other friends about that same question. It would be greatly appreciated if you refrain from asking any more questions about me." The two stared each other down, glare versus blank stare, before J turned to face Percy. "May I go and bring her to meet everyone here? She complained a lot about not coming in the first place that I don't want to go back and listen to more of it."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Percy questioned with a soft smile.

"At least give me some company I can bear being around."

"Fine. You can go." J let out an emotionless cheer before standing up and disappearing in a soft light.

Percy kept his smile as most everyone else around looked at the empty space slacked jawed in awe. "He's a god?" Nico asked aloud, looking over to his cousin in shock.

"No." Percy shook his head as he talked. "I sent him myself. I figured out a way to keep the blinding light to a bare minimum while transporting people so none of you get vaporized while having your eyes opened."

"Wait," Annabeth began, finally speaking up, "how did you figure that out?"

"Hard work, determination, and too many years. It was a pain; I can promise you that much."

"And who was J referring to when he kept saying 'her'?" Nico questioned.

"Well." Percy clapped his hands together in front of his smile. "J and I did go a long while alone on our adventures, but after a while we found a place to call home and even had someone join us, which is the girl J was mentioning without detailing. She has been good company and has been helping out on our escapades every now and again."

"So you got a new girlfriend to share with your new boyfriend?" Clarisse joked with her own smug grin, hoping to seep under Percy's skin. It faltered only slightly when he snickered and hand to place a hand over his own mouth.

He wanted to say something. He really did. Just so he wasn't the only one laughing. But their reactions to his reaction to her response was too good to pass up and change. He'd rather sit in his joy alone until J returned so he had someone to join in on the secret joke, just before it could be ruined. He removed his hand from his mouth, looking down the end of the table to Clarisse, Nico, Thalia, and Annabeth having the best of the reactions, before he felt the tugging in the back of his head signaling J's ready.

"Oh, speak of the devil." With another small flash, appearing at the door of the meeting room, two figures appear. The most recognizable is J, standing straight and taller than people remember him begin, while standing next to, and holding his arm around the neck of, a teenage girl struggling in his grasp and trying to beat him for her freedom.

"Let go of me!" she whines, elbowing and smacking him in the side and his gut. J just looks down at her.

"We're supposed to make physical contact when we transport so Percy has less work to do," J responds calmly, moving slightly as she hits him more.

"That doesn't mean choke me!"

"Well, you told me I wasn't allowed to hold your hand so you left me with no other option."

"You had so many other options!"

"Well I wasn't going to hold you upside down. You don't scream and complain as much like that."

"J, Hailey, please." The two aforementioned characters stop their verbal argument, though only one would agree to it being that, and turned their heads to look at the new god. "We have company. Talk now. Fight later."

The now named Hailey wiggles out of J's chokehold, which he does nothing to make it easier on her behalf, and she runs to and tackles the torso of the man beside the centaur. "Sorry, dad. J's just being mean again."

"No, I'm being loving and caring. I'm offended you can't tell."

"Well, you're also offended when we can't tell you're offended, and also offended when we don't believe you when you tell us you're offended. You bounce remarks off us like you're practicing tennis." Percy smiled in the direction of his partner still standing at the door and then down at the younger girl hugging him by the chest.

Only to remember they weren't alone in the room and were being stared at by near two dozen people frozen in place after hearing the word "dad" come out of the girl's mouth.

"Ah, shit. I gotta explain this now. Hold on."


	6. Chapter 6

**Aaaaaand we're back. I haven't forgotten about this story, just needed to finish the introduction to our newest family member.**

 **I think the only part of my writing I hate the most is that I'm dedicating myself to five stories and yet I've already worked out concept drafts to a new story already, and I want to put it out but I also want to make sure I can update on these stories without continuously putting them off like the crapbasket I am. So, I'll probably just write the chapters off to the side and wait a while longer as I flesh out these stories before dedicating myself to writing a 6th one that I can care about.**

 **I do plan on updating once a week, a new chapter or two for a certain story depending on the rotation (check my profile description for the order in which updates will commence.) Depending on their length will determine if I make one or two. Long chapters like this should take about a week to flesh out correctly in the middle of all my other work, but shorter ones like those that _Child of Magic_ should be having for the next three or four will have two made in a week, just to maintain a word count quota. I do have with me a general idea of what each story will have in content up to their first 10 chapters, and the rest to follow has yet to be squeezed into a number count beyond them. Some of these might end in the 20s and maybe if I decide to or not will break into a second "book" if I decide to end them in that size. By the end of next year, some of these won't even be close to a climactic point, but that's just how I'll have to manage.**

 **Now that I am done boring you and wasting time, enjoy a new chapter to the story of Warriors.**

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Percy now sat outside by the campfire, having finished the meeting only minutes ago. By his side sat J and Hailey, flanking both arms, and around the fireplace sat his old friends Thalia, Nico, Annabeth, Clarisse, and, luckily enough that she was still at camp at the time, Rachel. The five of them had agreed to Perseus' request to accompany him and the two who had been with him since before his return.

"So." Percy looked around to the seven in his presence. J had left shortly after returning to the meeting, and returned with a tea set, offering a drink to those who wanted one. Thalia and Clarisse were the only two to turn down the offer. "Any questions I can offer an answer to that I didn't during the meeting?"

Rachel raised her hand, and Percy smiled and gestured to her. "I think I'm the only one who missed out on proper introductions," she began. "Although Apollo did share with me the fact you're a god now; congratulations, by the way. I just don't know who your friends are?" Percy didn't know why Rachel had ended that with a question, but he chose not to dwell on it.

"Oh, right." Percy gave his old friend a soft smile. "You were absent from the meeting. I do believe some introductions are in order, then." Percy turned his face to the left and gestured to the man beside him, quietly sipping on his tea. "This is J. He was my partner and at the start of our travels my guide for where we were. A lot of our time was actually spent in Asia, in case you're wondering. He's been living in the continent before we met. He's a really nice guy, to an extent." Hailey let out a small snicker and Thalia and Clarisse sent their own glares towards J. First impressions of him weren't the best, and the one he was giving to Rachel was, well nothing. Even with the many set of eyes on him, J made no notion of acknowledgement their way. "Do pardon him if he doesn't act out in any way. He gets off on being stoic." The young girl beside Percy let out a laugh behind her hands. The two were cupped over her mouth, trying their best and yet still failing to conceal the smile and giggles. J lowered his cup of tea onto the plate in his other hand, his eyes trained on the liquid, before shooting his now free hand behind Percy and into the back of Hailey's head with a jab.

"Ow! What the hell, old man?!" Hailey screamed over Percy's lap to J, who had returned to his tea as fast as he had left it.

"You were laughing at me," J responded, his mouth hovering over his cup. "It was rude."

"Then you hit me!"

"Now we're even."

"And this is Hailey," Percy continued, placing a hand on Hailey's head where J has struck and patting it gently. Said girl leaned forward against Percy's side, leaving half of her face revealed to glare across her for J to look over at her eye out of the corner of his. "J and I found her abandoned and with only a loss of memory not too far out from where we were staying. We tried but have come up short in finding her parents and home before us. However, we did ultimately decide in taking her in to live with us, and have come to know her and call her Hailey."

"Is she a demigod?" Rachel pondered, looking down to the girl, still locked in her staring match with J.

"Maybe," came Percy's response. "As I've told everyone else here, we aren't too sure on her past, though we do sense godly essence in her. We've come to figure it out as a connection to water and the sea, though not to the extent of which I'm at. And yes, I have asked my father about her, months ago, but he's confided in me the truth that I have no demigod siblings, so that possibility is ruled out."

"Wait." Annabeth set her cup down to her lap as she spoke up, leaning forward so she didn't have to look at Percy over Rachel's shoulder. "You've talked with Poseidon months ago? I didn't know you had come back until today."

"That's because I didn't come back until today, at least not like this. I've had to meet with the gods for the past two months. How else do you think I got the permission of running a camp from Zeus so fast? I had to get approval from the council anyways, so I decided it would be less of a bother to the king if I got a tally before asking him, just so he didn't have to call in all the gods on such a simple manner in the middle of no time. And I'm glad he's given the ok to this whole thing. Had he not, this would have been a more boring return."

"So…" Nico spoke distantly from across the fire, his cup cupped in his hand as his eyes glowed across the fire to look at Percy. "Where is your camp set up, anyways? You've come back, but you've made it just as clear that you're not staying here, specifically."

"Until I can get one build in America, J and I have decided on using a place in Japan. It's more difficult than I thought it would be to set up the border protection so far from the Olympian land, but we managed to make one that will at least keep mortals out of our hair for the time being." Percy's smile wavered. "I wanted to stay here longer, at this camp to be with all of you, but Zeus isn't as patient as you would believe when an offer like this comes groveling to his feet. I will try to make it a habit of coming back here to meet you all, though I cannot promise when and how often that'll be, right now. Just do understand that I want to come home now, and be with my friends and extended family again."

Percy let his smile return as his death cousin, old girlfriend, and almost girlfriend smiled back in equal emotion. Thalia and Clarisse gave their own softer smile and smirk, respectively, whilst J and Hailey continued to ignore them all and glare at each other.

"Prissy, I think you're forgetting something." The new god focused his gaze to the daughter of war. "You still haven't told us what you've been doing with your boyfriend for the past 10 years."

Percy and Hailey blinked in Clarisse's direction, the latter having broken from her match with J to do so. The father and daughter were silent in their gaze before the two of them broke down in a fit of giggles, confusing the five campers around them. The only one with a different reaction was J, who sighed out his nose and dropped the lids of his eyes as he refilled his cup.

"The fact you keep using the term 'we' is why people keep mistaking us for a gay couple," J spoke out, looking over to Percy as he set the kettle back down by the fire. "You need to tone it down on that front, please."

"But-" Percy snickered and shook as he spoke "-but it's funny every time."

"I don't care if you find it funny. I will never date you, no matter how much you 'love' me."

Percy chuckled again and turned his attention back to his friends. "Sorry about that," he apologized, gesturing to himself and Hailey, who had fallen over into his lap in her fit of laughter. "J and I have be called a couple before, one too many times in the past, and he's had much more…offended, you could call them, reactions to the claims."

"Is there a problem with being called gay?" Nico questioned from across the fire, looking over to J who looked back over to him.

"Do you like it when people assume you're straight?"

"Touché."

"Don't worry about J," Percy said over the flames. "He's not a people person to being with. I'm unsure if he even has a sexuality."

"Didn't you say not even five minutes ago that I'm into being stoic?" J looked back over to the god beside him.

"Stoic isn't a gender."

"If demivapor can be a gender than so can stoic. It's best not to question stupid logic. It can't be reasoned with."

"Aaaaanyways," Percy drew out, returning the attention back to the matter at hand. Speaking of which, with Hailey, now across his lap, Percy placed one of his hands atop her head as he continued. "I'm happy to answer your question, Clarisse. We spent about…" Percy tapped a finger on Hailey's head gently "…just under two years in Japan to start. We had a place to stay, of course, but most of the time we spent there was traveling up and down the country, training and meeting people, but no one who would stay with us. After we had been everywhere we could be, we moved on out of the country and worked out way west. We've been in Russia the most, but given it is the largest country it's almost to be expected. Visited a few more countries in Asia, and did about the same that we did in Japan. After that, we went into Europe, but we spent most of our time on the Eastern side since monsters were less common the further we were away from Greece."

"Are there no monsters in Asia?" Nico questioned, taking the tea pot as Clarisse passed it over to him.

"Not really. Greek monsters like to follow the gods and where they move to. Olympus never went to Asia or most other countries to the East. Monsters don't like staying away from fresh meat. So, aside from one or two ballsy monsters, and to this day I'm wondering how they got there, we were relatively unbothered.

"And moving on from that, we stayed in Europe for a while, and then then returned to Japan. We've been pinned there for the time being, leaving the country only a few times. And after five years into our travels, I was made a god. Since we had a bit plot of land to ourselves, we decided to stay there and train my powers for the time being, until I could master all that I could under my domains."

"You've been training yourself as a god for five years?" Annabeth questioned him.

"Three, actually. I spent the first three years of being a god learning the basics for all gods and what I have control over. The past two years have been more exploratory work for me, testing out my abilities in other ways than the straightforward approaches, and the latter of which includes taking care of Hailey." Percy lifted a strand of said girl's hair and smiled as he heard her breathing grow soft and tired. "While the past two years have been slow, it's been nice, having that relaxing feeling in the air. After I finished training myself, it took me a year to decide to train demigods myself, and I've spent that past year doing a lot, alongside what I've already mentioned. The last two months was a slow burn of getting the approval of the gods to take demigods into my care and train them in a more intense way than is taught here."

"Oh, that remind me." Annabeth straightened in her seat and put her own cup of tea to the side. "If you're a god now, but you still have the ability to interact as freely as you are with demigods, does that mean the laws are less lenient on you, similar in a way to Artemis?"

The smile that decorated Percy's face fell ever so slightly. From the corner of their eyes, Percy and J shared a look, and within it, a conversation. J lowered his cup down to the plate in front of his knees, breathing softly from his nose, before resting his gaze in the flames of the fireplace. "We do not know if Perseus is a Greek god," J admitted. His eyes stayed trained on the flames, flickering and disappearing into the small sky above. "He bleeds gold, we know that much, but it doesn't prove enough to us. We've had no way of confirming it other than small details that could apply to other tiers of gods, and I know of your recent endeavors with them. It was the Fates themselves who appeared and made Perseus a god, but not once have they referred to him as a 'Greek' in the same context. We've even asked them directly about it, but they have continued to avoid giving us a solid answer. Giving the benefit of the doubt to the situation, we have agreed to see Percy as a Greek god, with his parentage in mind. But, since we do not have the answer we want, we cannot say for certainty that our assumption is correct. Percy and I agreed to share this information with a small group of people he trusts, and it seems you five are that group." His eyes rose from the flames, staring off into the distance but still grounded in front of Percy's friends. "We advise you keep this information to yourself, and not share this with anyone, even each other to find reason amongst yourselves. It's for the best that word of this does not come into the open. We know how messy dealing with multiple hierarchies at once can be."

"If it was the Fates who made Percy a god, then he would have to be a Greek one," Annabeth reasoned, a trail of sweat rolling down the side of her face. Whether it was from the tense aura J was giving off as he spoke his last words or that she had leaned down closer to the fire as he spoke, she was uncertain. "Had it been anyone else from another set of deities, then we could reason that Percy would be made one of them."

"We've taken that into context as well," Percy spoke up again, his gaze resting on Annabeth's eyes. "But it doesn't mean much when the Fates continue to play their word games when we ask. At best, we're right in assuming that I'm just a minor Greek god."

"And at worst, he's a god unconnected to any mythological or religious structure," J continued for him. "A new solo god, and maybe with a capital G if we are to be open to interpretation. That is something we are doing our best to avoid being true. It is trouble we would like to avoid."

"That _I'd_ like to avoid." Percy turned his upper body to face his companion. "You don't give two shits."

"I do when you drag me into your problems."

"My problems are our problems. Tough shit." Percy turned back to his friends and smiled again, but in the flame lit light, it was only half comforting. The other half of it was strict and much more striking. "We would appreciate it if you keep this to yourselves individually. A discussion between any of us about this, after this, is not something we want people to spy on."

Nico nodded his head slowly, staring back at his cousin. "I can do that. I can keep another secret just fine." The other four nodded and softly voiced their agreement to do the same.

"Thank you. That means a lot to me. And speaking of things we should avoid talking about, Thals." Percy turned his attention to his other cousin. "I think you have a group of sisters and a goddess you need to return to."

"What do you mean, 'avoid talking about'?" Thalia asked back in a tone mocking Percy's.

J made a quiet noise from the top of his throat and Percy nudged him in the arm with his elbow.

"Don't worry about it. I don't think they care much about me either. But aside from that, it's getting late." Percy tilted his head to the sky and gazed softly at the stars above them. "Best we call it a night now. I'll be here tomorrow, since I don't leave for the camp until the morning after, so we can talk some more if you'd all like. Gives everyone a day to decide if they wish to join me or not, if they even can."

"I can hang out more tomorrow," Nico admitted, raising a hand to brush his hair back. Rachel nodded her head in agreement, looking between the two and giving both boys a smile.

"We don't have anything important to attend to, so why not?" she agreed.

"Sorry, but I don't think I can," Annabeth admitted solemnly. "I was only given today to have off from construction, and I don't think mother will give me another day in a row when we're so close to being done with the recent project."

"That's fine," Percy reassured her. "If you can't make it, I'll pay you a visit myself. I'm curious to see everything you've made whilst I've been away." The two shared a smile of their own before Percy turned his attention to the last two girls.

"I have squirts to train throughout the afternoon," Clarisse stated with a grunt, "but I can waste my time bothering you the rest of the day. That's fine with me."

"Nice to see your personality hasn't faltered one bit, War Girl."

"Call me that again and I'll main you."

"Good luck with that."

Thalia hummed and leaned back in her spot, looking up to the sky as well. "I'll have to ask Lady Artemis for permission to see you again tomorrow," she told her cousin across the fire. "I have some other things I need to ask her regardless, so I'll make sure to throw that one in there too."

"Good." Percy nodded towards her. "I hope she gives you permission then." Then he nodded to every one of his friends and smiles gently to them. "Have a good night. I hope to see you all again tomorrow."

J took from Nico and Rachel their cups of tea as they left, and only gazed to Clarisse and Thalia as they took their leave too. He took the tray of cups and tea in one of his hands and looked over to Percy, who had made no notion of getting up, who was looking at Annabeth, who had risen from her seat but was still facing Percy. J blinked, said nothing about it, and took from Annabeth her cup when he approached. He kneeled down beside Percy, shaking Hailey gently to wake her up and taking her by the hand to walk her over to the Poseidon cabin for the night, allowing Percy to move to his feet silently. The new god's gaze followed his friend and daughter as they made their way to cabin three before turning back to his once girlfriend and smiling at her, a gesture which she returned.

"I see your vocabulary got bigger," she teased him.

"Yeah, so did my beard," Percy joked back, widening his smile. "Bound to happen eventually." Annabeth chuckled at his comment.

"Apparently so." Her smile stayed on her face, but dropped slightly when she spoke again. "You never did try contacting me, or any of us really, while you were gone."

Percy's own smile dropped to that, and he let a sigh escape his lips. "I know, and I'm sorry for that. A part of me just…wanted to be disconnected from my old life as a demigod, and the other felt like my intrusions would only be of a bother, so it's something I pushed to the back of my mind."

"You're not a bother, Percy." Annabeth's voice turned soft as her head lowered. "You shouldn't think of yourself like that."

"I know. J tried to beat it in my head with a stick a while back." Percy gave his own chuckle, but its tone mirrored the sky above. "Sorry. I've missed you all, and I've neglected contacting any of you. Even after becoming a god, I saw it best to keep to myself until I could get control over my new powers. Should have told you all sooner than this. My bad."

"You're right, it is your bad." Annabeth raised her head back to look him in the eyes and worked her small smile back to her lips. "But I forgive you. And I'm happy your back."

"I'm happy to be back."

The two stood in silence after that, smiling slightly and staring into the eyes of the other. It took time, but the daughter of Athena stepped forward to meet Percy where he stood before wrapping him in a hug, which he returned in kind.

"I've missed you."

"I know. I've missed you too."

Their hug continued in peace of silence, both looking past the other over the shoulder of the other. Percy could feel Annabeth's body move slightly as she breathed in tandem. He held her gently as she held him equally.

"Goodnight Percy," she whispered, pulling away slowly, allowing their arms to untangle from the other. She looked up to him with a smile. "I'll see what I can do about mother's permission, but if she doesn't give, I expect to see you on Olympus."

"I'll do my best to live up to my promise," Percy responded with a smile. "And if you'd like right now, I can flash you back to Olympus the way I did with J. I need to make sure Hailey is comfortable staying somewhere new for the night, so I won't be able to join you back myself."

"That's fine. I understand, and I'll gladly take you up on that offer."

"Okay. Just close your eyes, and you'll be back with the gods before you know it." Annabeth nodded and did such, and Percy took a step back and raised a hand to her, eyes glowing a soft gold as he prepared to send her back.

"Percy?"

His actions paused as she spoke his name.

"Yes, Annabeth?"

"…You're doing a good thing with Hailey. I hope everything works out for you and her."

Percy stood still, staring at Annabeth's form, and he was lucky her eyes were closed, as to not see the frown that he wore.

"Thanks…goodnight."

Without giving her the time to respond, Percy flashed her away in a dim light. His hand lowered slowly to his side, and hung lips as it arrived. He sighed out his nose and turned away, following the path J took Hailey in to his cabin. At the front door stood J, whose body was facing in the direction of the shoreline at camp, if Percy's memories didn't fail him.

"She's already asleep," J shared with Percy once he was close enough. "It might not last forever though."

"I'll join her for the night then," Percy concluded, and J looked out of the corner of his eye to his god as the tone of his voice reached his ears.

"What is it?"

Percy met J's single eye with both of his. "I can't say I'm too comfortable lying like this."

"To who?"

The son of Poseidon grimaced. "To my friends. To my father. To…" Percy tilted his head to the door beside them "…her."

"There isn't much else we can do now, you know. Nor that we could do back then. Anything else we could have done, and that we can do, is still a big risk to take, and dangerous at that."

"I know. Doesn't mean I'm going to like any of this more than I do now, which is pretty skim to begin with." Percy opened the door slightly, peering through the opening to see Hailey sound asleep on one of the beds. "She deserves to know."

"In due time. Now is not that time." J turned his attention away and began walking towards the entrance of the camp. "I'm going out. I'll check on the source's assumption and see if the ritual site is real or not, or even one of concern. Goodnight."

Percy watched him leave, one hand still resting on the door of his old man's cabin. Once J's figure had disappeared from sight, Percy pushed the door open and too another look at his daughter. She had taken one of the lower beds of the bunk bed options, with one pillow resting below her head and another hugged against her chest. The blanket covered up only her upper half, probably kicked off her legs while she was asleep. It was a cute sight for Percy to see.

And Percy couldn't find it in his heart to smile.


	7. Chapter 7

**Well I think I just wasted that week off I was talking about. Don't judge me; finals for school are stupid and school in America is stupid. This is a universal fact, and it carries on into the college life. I wasn't even able to write all that I wanted to for this chapter, so I've decided to cut it and leave it for next month's update here. This is probably a third of what I had planned, but I don't have the time to make it for this week, so an action heavy chapter is what you get.**

 **As a warning to those who read all my stories, the next chapter for every story other than _Betrayed_ will be a multi scene chapter. There will be jumps in time through each chapter, and for those that jump from one day to the next, I will mark it so you know. Those that don't have a date on them, I ask you to know are taking place over the same day.**

 **I say this now because my first week after winter break will be the chapter for _A New Starting Point_ , the long awaited return, and I have it planned to be scenes from over five days of the same week. I want to put a lot into that story and push myself to cover more ground in these next weeks to power through the worlds and concepts I present so we're all on the same page.**

 **And as a last thing, for those who read this chapter, I would like to hear what you think of my action writing. I'm going into creative writing as a major and I plan to use it as a profession, and my stories on this site are meant as practice to better my fiction writing, while using works from others as a basis to practice with. I would appreciate any comments you have as to how it reads so I know how to make it better for this and the other stories and I write. Thank you in advance to all that give me feedback.**

 **And for those of you who like reading PJO, I will be writing a Friendship oneshot next week alongside _Child of Magic_ 's next chapter, so expect two updates next week since I have the time. The scene in my head as been in here for a long time, but I could never convince myself to write it out and put it here. Now I have the time and energy to make it happen.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

J watched the group as they moved, the four men huddled together in the dark streets of New York. Not one made a sound other than that of their footsteps, and not one tried to make conversation with the others. They moved quietly into the night, a book pressed to each of their chests, and the hoods of their jackets resting over their faces. That was they group he was searching for.

He moved silently across the roof and jumped to the other side of the street, landing on the building mirrored, watching the men following without the knowledge of doing so. His gaze peered over the ledged, taking note of their movements and squinting as they entered the building he stood atop of. That wasn't right.

J took the letter from his pocket, reading over the details provided. His eyes flicked up beyond the paper, staring into the glowing sign of the Red Circle several blocks directly ahead, the place he should have been following them to. He read the note over again, comparing the pictures to the brief glimpses of their faces he could make. They were the group he was looking for. They just took a detour, of sorts.

The note was stuffed back into his pocket and he turned on his heel and stalked over to the door leading down into the hotel. His hand curled around the hilt of his sword, easing it out of the sheath and swiping it in a blur of silver before easing it back in. He pulled the door by the handle, catching the metal used to lock it in place as it slid out, and slipped inside without another noise.

His bare feet tapped each step as he descended floor by floor until he reached the most notable one. From the window in the stairwell door, he could see the seven men spread out down the hall, each decorated in a suit and a blade, short or long. Two stood against the wall, on either side of a door, while the rest were spread about to roam and space out about the hall.

J took a breath as he surveyed each man, stepping his feet further and further from the door until his heel touched the wall. He fell into a lunge, sliding his fingers between the handle and the door while the other hand gripped his sword. He kept his eyes on the window, darting from man to man, as the energy in his body began to vibrate.

 _Three._

 _Two._

 _One._

The door swung open faster than the seven could register, and the man that stood beyond it was gone faster than they could acknowledge him. They weren't fast enough to see him draw his sword. They weren't fast enough to see the glow that shone from beneath both. They weren't fast enough to keep their heads.

J took another breath as he reached the end on the hall. Steam blew from his body in clouds, and the head in his hand twitched in his hand, blood pouring from the absence of a neck. He dropped it into the lap it once called its own. Sighing, J drew his sword from the wall and wiped the blood on his sleeve as he turned back to the rest of the hall. Bodies were still tumbling, following after the heads they had lost. But now the door was free to approach.

He tiptoed his was past the corpses and their pools of blood staining the hallway walls and carpet floor. When he approached the door previously guarded, he placed his hands upon it. He spaced them apart, gliding them along in an arching motion until they were at polar ends. He lifted his palms away, pressing his fingertips into the door, ready to slide them together and break in. J moved his body forward, bending his elbows and flexing his hands and –

 _ZZZTT._

J froze in his place, staring down the door as power rolled by him. The bodies beside him shook and jumped before tearing apart at the skin and flesh and bone and fluttering away through the vents, leaving behind J and pools of blood they had created.

J let out a breath as the pressure of power disappeared, letting his shoulders drop. Then he shoved the door open.

Though he had drained most of his Light source dashing through the hallway, J could still draw his sword and follow the door flying inside, crashing into someone and interrupting the ritual taking place. The other three in the room moved as fast as they could, but J had already made ground and shot his sword through the throat of the man closest to him.

As the other two men in fine condition took hold of a sword, J had ripped his sword from the side of the man's throat and rushed the second. The second man raised his sword to run Percy's guide through, but J used his own blade to whack it aside and keep advancing. The man contorted his face in worry and tried to block a slash to his chest, but instead took a slash that stole his fingers from the knuckles up.

The man stumbled away and down and screamed, losing the grip on his sword and using his other hand to clutch the bleeding stump to his chest. The only other unharmed man charged J as the warrior turned to face him. The man swung his sword down upon J's head, aiming to slice it in half. Instead of meeting skull, he met hand, specifically one that caught his and stopped the sword short from touching J's hair. He struggles against the glowing grip digging into his skin, but got nowhere, and instead got a sword piercing through his wrist and lunging further to meet his eye, shooting out the back of his head.

J kept his grip on the man's hands, drawing his sword out of skull and joint and sheathing his sword away once more. He let the man's hands go and allowed him to fall to the carpet in a mess. J payed little attention to the man caressing his bleeding hand and took a look at the room around him.

Aside from the obsidian black table they must have brought in earlier, they had emptied the hotel room of its usual wears. Beds, T.V., cabinets; all gone. The lights were turned off, in the room, leaving the only source of light for the ritual to the lamp they had set in the middle of the table before it was knocked off. Taking a look again at the table, J noticed the books spread about it, flipped to various pages that must have been for the ritual the men were performing. He approached one of the books moved about the table when the door came a-knockin' and flipped through the pages, unable to read the language he didn't recognize.

The man sandwiched between door and table stirred, groaning and trying to lift himself as he lifted the lids of his eyes. His rise stopped as his vision returned and was met with the sight of a palm staring him down from an inch away.

"Hakai."

J's arm recoiled as the man's head exploded with part of the door and table. He closed the book, giving the cover a once over before taking it in hand and walking over to the man seething in pain on the floor. His foot shot up to meet the curled man's shoulder, sending him sprawling on his back, screaming again as J stomped his foot down on the man's thumb-only hand.

"Since you're still alive and in no position to fight back, I suggest you start explaining." J crouched down to the man and rested his other knee on the guy's chest. Said man tried to retaliate and throw a punch with his good hand, only for it to be caught and stuck in J's grip. "Why are you here?"

"Y-you think I…I'm just gonna ta _aah_!" J pressed the ball of his foot harder on the man's palm, shooting more blood out of his knuckles.

"Yes I do. Least then your soul can move on to the afterlife. Now answer my questions. Why are you here?"

The man breathed heavily through his grunts and his teeth. "You…you know why we're here..!"

"An awakening/summoning ritual for your superior. Yes, I know. Why are you at this hotel? The last time you people used one, it was in Russia, and it took the lives of your people too. I thought learning from mistakes was something people did."

The man looked up to the figure staring down in his eyes, unable to keep his own open while being interrogated. He let out a spit of blood to the side, and then another, and then a chuckle. A laugh. A grimace. And a laugh again. "Do you…truly believe…we would perform it…here?.." a breath escaped his lips, a lightness to it that a laugh couldn't perform.

"No. You planned to do it somewhere else. Why move it here?" J dropped his free hand to the floor, sliding it along the carpet away from him and the man, and leaned his body down further to the man's.

"Who said we moved…" The man coughed up more blood onto the stained carpet and smiled in his madness and suffering. A quake broke through the room, shuddering everything. J's hand caught the hilt of the sword fallen beside him and slashed it through the man's neck before anything more could happen.

J picked himself up and turned his body to the window as the quake calmed, and watched. As chains dropped from the sky and shot out the street and sidewalk. As they connected and whipped about. As they coiled and constricted around the Red Circle.

J clutched the book to his chest and rushed the window, pressing his palm against the glass and shattering it clean with some of the power Perseus blessed him with. He placed one foot on the sill and jumped out, turning his body in the process and forming a ball of flames in his hand to throw back into the room as he spiraled eight floors back down to the surface.

J cemented himself into the pavement, wasting more of his energy pool to soften his landing and clutched his hand to his side. He ignored the explosion from above, the flames and burning bits flying out the windows, as he pulled three drachmas from his pocket. He pressed them to his sword and clothes and the book in hand, having them all disappear from his person and in return getting a civilian friendly flannel shirt and jeans to cover his lean form.

J leaped from the stone free and turned on his feet to the club before rushing past the falling flames to it. He shoved the fleeing civilians to the side, approaching the building closer and closer. He slowed behind the crowd that kept watch from the distance but hesitated not and pushing them aside to make way, sparing a glance to see the condition the Red Circle was undergoing.

Chains decorated in smoke and electricity that shouldn't be red but was anyways curled around the upper half of the building, pressing into metal and stone and sign. Sparks and rocks and steel fell in pieces around the building, but J took that into little consideration as he made it through the ocean of people and kept his forward momentum. He ignored the shouting of the officers trying to save all civilian lives they could, and dived through the hallway entrance to the dance floor, taking a full stop upon his arrival.

J kept his eyes on the chains webbing the open area of the second balcony and the bodies entangled in them. He could see arm outstretched towards the chains peering over the railings, but they were by no means meant for saving the poor captured souls dangling before them.

He looked into the corner of his floor and darted to the doorway to the side, bursting through and bouncing up the stairs to the floor above. He crashed through the doors there, startling the two men lined up in front of his and sent the first of the two down on his face with a solid punch. The other made moves to press forward against J, but was met instead with a torrent of flames shooting from J's arm.

J flicked his wrist to turn off the jet of fire and hummed in annoyance at the burning sleeve of his shirt, though he made no notion to stop or remove it. He turned his body to the rest of the balcony, finding six more men dressed like the two he attacked, dressed like the men at the hotel. More disposable mortals for the monsters to use. He couldn't hear what was being said too clearly, but J could see the man directly across from him yelling at the other men around him, who all turned away from their positions in the ritual and made way towards Perseus' warrior.

J stood his ground as the first man rushed him with a knife directed at his chest, and spun his body around to push the man's arm out of the way with his own when the knife was close enough. His other arm shot up and hooked his elbow into the man's chin and he spun, knocking him solid with the joint. He kept his spiral momentum, grabbing the man's wrist and shoulder and forcing him down to his knees so one of J's could come up to meet the man's elbow.

He swiped the knife from the man's grasp as the arm bent in the opposite direction of normal and threw him back by the shoulder into the man coming in to follow up for his comrade. J followed forward, lunging the knife into the first man's throat, and with the pressure on his shoulder shoved him down again and sprung himself over. The knife cut through the neck into the air, flipping upside down in J's grip before falling like an ice pick into the second man's forehead.

J landed, crouched above the two men, stealing from them the knives they had and turning 'round to the three men approaching from the other side, and the knife in the air that lead them. J turned his body and leaned out of the knife's way, allowing it to fly past, while keeping his own gaze on the men coming to him. A second knife twirled through the air, and J moved his body the other way, throwing his hand back after the knife with a stolen one of his own. His hand launched forward, and with it a knife to mimic the ones sent to him. The man leading the three moved out of the way in time to dodge the knife, but it kept going and found itself impaled in the shoulder of the man behind him.

The scream of his partner took his attention away from J, long enough to distract him from the knife flying at him until it dug into his knee. The man curled his body down, letting out his own startled scream, and moved his hands to the knife in him. But a foot beat his pace, stomping down on the knife and pushing it deeper, and knee met his face before he could scream to the extra silver in him.

J reeled his arm back and shot it down into the second man's face as gravity pulled him down with the first. Both feel in pain of their knife wounds and cranial concussions, and J landed between them, moving his attention to the last of the three men. Said man threw a punch to J's face, but the man swatted it away with a hand of his own, stepping back through the bodies as he did so. The man threw punch after punch, and J would either hit them out of the way or step to the side and back to evade them. He reeled his arm back like J did, and instead of retreating, J advanced. The man threw his fist forward, but found a foot connecting with his face before his fist could connect with anything.

J stood paused in his spin hook kick as he brought the man's face against the chain-sprouting wall, watching the man's body slack and slide down to the corner where floor and wall met. He brought his leg back, bent at the knee and hovering in the air beside his other leg, before shooting it backwards and colliding with the face of the man he punched at the start, sending him back down when he tried to get back up.

J planted his feet on the ground, turning his head enough to look at the man across from the corner of his eye. His eyes were wide and his arm lower than it was originally and, from what J could tell, he was shaking in his boots. J took a step, just one step, to start his way over, and almost stumbled as power poured into the club and washed over him.

 **Pathetic.** J froze as the voice rumbled and rippled the pools of blood in front of him. **I was told you men could get me dozens of souls in one night, and here I find but a handful before me and a barefoot bastard knocking you down one by one. I can't even get to the souls right outside to make up for your worthless efforts. You've locked me in here.**

"Lord Chaos, please!" J could hear the man from the other side screaming at the top of his lungs, despite the pressure of power in the building, but he kept his eyes on the bodies dissolving in front of him like those in the hotel hallway did. "Please, forgive me! We did everything you asked of us! We changed our course and used the four men to draw his attention away like you said it would! We were able to summon you and give you souls! You told us we had no reason to worry!"

 **And yet it seems I wasn't told who or what our enemy was. He is far more capable than his kind should be.** A scream and two took J's attention to the webbing of chains, as he watched the captives entangled in the air melt at the flesh, muscle and bone, falling to the floor like water. **You were to tell me everything and you couldn't even do that.**

"My lord, please –!"

 **Silence.** With his attention in the direction of the man, J kept his position as a spectator as he burst into an array of red sparks, tearing parts of his surroundings as he went away. **I have no need to forgive the worthless. I need the capable and competent if this is to be done at all.**

 **And you.** J shot himself straight and stood still as the voice acknowledged him, if the power in the air around his lungs had anything to do with it. It stood still over him, watching him, judging him. **Goodbye.**

J stumbled forward and caught the railing as the club shook, and found himself unable to act anymore as the upper half of the club was torn off and dragged into the sky, eaten by the night above.


	8. Chapter 8

**If this story is anything to me, it's the most cinematic. I play a lot of music to think about the scenes I want to write for the future, in terms of fights, dialogue, and importance to story. Of all the stories, this is the one most mapped out to the end. Each and every story here has taken small turns in their plans, but even then the end goal is open to interpretation more-so than set to a specific goodbye. All except this one. This one has the most clear place to go.**

 **The only problem with this story is the amount of build up I have to give it now, to get to where I want it to be. _Magic_ has nowhere to go as of this point in time, _Betrayed_ and _Red_ are about to being the first of their two main key points to story, and _Starting Point_ is more than I thought I was going to make it. The next chapter for this story will start with more progression, but its true colors will show in due time.**

 **On a whole side note, I'm happy as fuck to be alive to see _Westworld_ season 2 in three months. In the words of Arin Hanson, "Fucking finally." It's one of my only reasons to watch anything on TV.**

 **And since that is all I have to say, I'll end it here. Enjoy so character.**

* * *

J breathed calmly as he worked his hair into a bun down his neck. He kept his fingers free to bundle the strands of chocolate with little attention, serving it instead to watch the god in front of him failing to read a book. When J's hands finished, they lowered down to his lap, unfolding the sleeves of his flannel he so desperately wanted to get out of. His only problem was the god who swapped his clothes didn't bring his yukata to the god's old camp cabin.

"Sir," he tried interrupting, only for Perseus to hold a hand up in his direction and keep his focus on the book. J let his face dip into a frown. "It doesn't matter how hard you look at the thing; you're not going to decode it off of pure assumptions with only English, Latin, and Ancient Greek to translate it to. You're just wasting your time going off of nothing."

Percy made no initial response as his eyes scanned through each row and column and diagram in frustration. His nose puffed as he continued through the two pages open to him before a growl shut the book in his hand.

"There has to be a way to translate it," Percy muttered into the cover, giving the red icon a once over before tossing the book into J's hands.

"If there is, we don't know it," the samurai wielder continued for him. "And we can't share this with the Olympians, not when we don't know who this belongs to, especially when they were summoning Chaos."

Percy grunted and rotated his wrists, popping the air by his skin. "Speaking of which, are you certain that wasn't it?" The god turned his neck and looked down to the man sitting by his side. "There isn't a single other god or goddess or deity from any of the pantheons named Chaos. And if this Chaos was the Greco-Roman one we know, then we need to talk about it."

"But we both know that was not Chaos." J tilted his head back and turned his eyes up to the sea bearing down on him. "That was a whole different form of pressure, in every sense of the word. It didn't have the power of the creators, and the aura it gave was nothing like those we've met before. This could be a new god, like yourself, linked to a new mix of order." Percy growled into his knuckles.

"We're trying to avoid that, remember? The last thing we want is to create a new godly realm, especially if we don't know the others that could be a part of it."

"Then maybe our informer knows him." Percy squinted down at his companion, who returned the gesture in gusto. "They knew this was going to happen. I'd bet they knew it would be with this 'Chaos' too. Next time you meet with them, ask them."

"And if they don't know who it is?"

"At least they will when you bring it up."

The god sighed and turned his head away, back to the front, and back to the girl sleeping across the room. Percy watched as Hailey continued to sleep, and looked over at the clock to see no reason in waking her now. The girl could use another few hours of rest before needs bothered her.

"How many did we lose?" Percy questioned aloud, though it veered its course to the burning man.

"12 inside the building," the brown haired man reported. "Another eight caught outside by debris, and over 20 sustaining some form or other of a crippling injury."

"Why can't these bastards just start the war so we can bury them again?" J looked down to the book in his lap as the hiss in Percy's words curled over his shoulders.

"They won't start a war they aren't ready to win. Right now, they lack the confidence, power, and leadership to push an attack on the gods. We could have gone hunting, but that would have put us as a risk in the eyes of Olympus. We'll just have to wait it out and knock them each and every time they try to come up."

"I hate it." J looked over to the god, the man crossing his arms at his exclamation. "That there's so little we can do to stop this, other than wait for them to slip up and fall when we walk in. Why is it just one big power after the other comes in when I try to find peace?"

"Because they think you're lax enough and have lowered your guard to the point that they could move in silence without you expecting it," J answered. "They think they can move under our noses and crawl in to kill us just like that."

"They are that stupid, aren't they?"

"I can't remember the last time you were this hostile." J stood from the chair and walked around the table in the middle of Poseidon's cabin. "What has you peeved so much your godly aura wants to tear this roof down to our level? An enemy bothering your need for peace has never riled you up before."

Percy puffed his nose and glared at the floor beneath him, flexing his fingers and with it the power dripping from him. The wood around them squeaked, and J stopped beside the table and looked across it to the god in his company.

"It's not because of what they're doing, it's because of what we're doing." J raised an eyebrow to Perseus' admittance. "We've lied before. Many times. And it's gotten us out of situations when we needed to bail. But now I'm lying to get in these situations." The god looked up to the girl who kicked the covers to rest on only her legs. "We're having to lie seven times over to the gods, to my friends, to my family and to Hailey. You can't just expect me to be comfortable with holding back all of it from them—"

"I don't, but we don't have another option," J cut in sharply. "They can't all know of all of it yet, and they may never get to knowing it all. You want to find that peace and happiness away from the wars? Then we're going to have to tell a few lies just to get by without creating a few new problems."

"We made problems _making_ these lies, J."

"And we would have made worse had we told them the truth." Percy growled out his throat, and J met it with a snarl of his own, curling his features animalistic. "I'm unhappy about some of them too, and I'm even more unhappy that we had to come to Olympus for assistance to begin with. But the fact of the matter is that we can't do this freely without convincing the others gods, and we sure as hell couldn't convince them by letting them know what the fuck we are. Had we left things be, we would have put a target on ourselves to all the pantheons watching us, and in turn we would have put a target on her." J gestured a hand out to the side, and Percy didn't need to follow to see it point at his daughter. "We did the shit we did to keep us safe, Perseus. You and I alone. And I know you want to tell her, but the less that anyone knows, the better. What she knows now is enough, and it is all she can know, do you understand?"

Sea pulled up to the fire, and the fire blew into the sea. Their eyes stayed locked on the other, twisting the air about and turning Hailey in her sleep.

"You care, and I know you care, just as much as I do," J continued. "We have no other choice up to keep quiet and move forward until we can settle this and finally hide away. Then you don't have to tell her any more lies, and if you so wish we can undo all that we did to her."

"I'm not doing that to her again." Percy lowered the angle of his head but kept his glare high. "You made me agree to it once before, and I hate every second of it that I have to live with that mistake. I'm not wiping her again, and if you so much as try to do it again, I won't hold out on you."

J wisely kept silent under the glare of his god, at the father before him. He looked into the anger and hatred the green eyes held, and did nothing to fight back against it.

"Alright then, we don't have to do that ever again," the champion complied. "And lucky you, you get to turn over the lies to some of your friends tomorrow."

"The only saving grace I'm gonna see for the next few weeks."

"Aside from the lieutenant."

Percy scoffed a smile and turned away from his partner. "That's my joke, you jackass. When she hears it, she'll hear it from me. You better keep your mouth shut, because she won't let you get away with it as easily as she'll let me."

"I'm surprised she hasn't attacked you yet for a lot of what you've done. Last you told me, Thalia isn't supposed to be one for calm over violent."

Percy chuckled and shrugged. "Yeah, well, I guess the last 10 years actually managed to make her sweet instead of trigger happy."

"What a shock."

"Fuck off."

* * *

Hailey dropped to the sandy floor below, shooting her sticks into the sand to catch her before her face could. She felt the staff swing past, batting at the ponytail that worked slower to follow the rest of her body down. She could see he hairs drop onto her shoulder out the corner of her vision, as most of it was dominated by the figure of J and his bō.

His upper body continued to turn with the staff until his head had to roll between his arms, putting his staff above him and in the position to strike it down to the girl's head. Hailey did her part in pushing off the ground with her escrima sticks, pulling them into her chest and rolling to the side and the stick blew dust around with its impact. She pressed her arms into the dirt and jumped onto her feet, throwing her arms out stiff to keep fighting.

J lifted his bō slowly, turning on the ball of his foot the whole of body to face the human a foot shorter than him. "You're getting faster," he commented. "Practice has been paying off."

Hailey gave a shaky smile at the praise. "You two don't like it when I slack, remember?"

"It's good that you do." J stomped forward and shot the top of his bō to Hailey, nearly knocking her in the nose before she batted the long stick with one of her short ones and stepped to the side to keep her nostrils in tact. J acted just as quickly, spinning with the push and swinging his staff like a bat, and holding it near the end so the staff almost met her half way. She raised both her weapons to block, and did so successfully, though had no quick defense to stop the heel jabbing into the side of her stomach.

She fell down to her knees, gasping from the sudden contact to her body, but sprung away in a cartwheel when his foot came swinging for her head. She slouched into another stance, holding her weapons in front of her, waiting for J to dash to her again. Instead, the man stood tall, feet wide and staff planted in the ground upright between himself and the teenage girl.

"But you're not on the offensive today," J broke into discussion. "You're too single minded in your focus. I thought we taught you better than that. Is something distracting you?"

Instead of responding, Hailey jumped at the staff-wielding man, swinging one stick behind herself and the other to his hand holding the bō in place. The hand she aimed for shot up, so she instead hit his staff, rotating it from the dirt. J let it go, and it rolled over his wrist and back into his hand quick enough to catch the second swing, and follow it down to her ankles. Hailey made like a staff and spun off the dirt, landing on her back with a thud and a gasp of pain.

She moved as quick as she could, but she was barely on her elbow before the staff came swinging at her head again, only to stop just short of whacking her temple.

The man and the girl stayed still in their positions, one staring up wide and the other looking down with a squint. J backed away slowly, dragging his bō through the dirt, and Hailey could see the circle he was close to finishing when he spun into that strike stopped short. With a grunt she pulled herself up, taking her weapons in hand and standing once more to fight. J kept his body down, feet spread apart but his staff down, dragging along the dirt in front of his feet, and his body leaned down to follow the line he was making.

"Do really think you can continue?"

Hailey growled as her response and and chucked an escrima stick at the older gentleman. J dropped his staff to the dirt and caught the stick before it could hit his face. He blinked, and in an instant flicked his wrist to block the strike Hailey brought down on his head. The girl pushed forward, swinging and jabbing with shouts and kihaps of power, and J pushed back, blocking and leaning and pushing away her attacks, all while keeping his face leveled on hers.

When she jabbed to his stomach, J pushed back to her, shooting his stick down into hers and rushing his shoulder into her chest. She fell back, again, slamming into the dirt with a cry. She tried to do as before and pick herself up, but was pushed back down by a body atop hers and a staff against her neck.

J sat on her chest, just enough that she couldn't slide away, holding his weapon across her neck like a knife. "Your swings have more power than when we last sparred," he commented. "Your form and fighting spirit have improved, and your idea to throw and charge was a new one for you. I'm impressed." He shot to his feet and stepped aside, holding a hand down to the teen to help her up, albeit the struggle of keeping her up.

"Still not enough to get a hit on you," she muttered out with a cough. J curled one arm under both of her and placed the other over her stomach.

"You'll get there one day. Come on, let's get you some nectar and ambrosia and get those scrapes healed." The older man looked down at Hailey's left arm, at the forearm unhidden by a sleeve and showing a few scrapes from sliding on the terrain. "Did I go too hard on you this time around?"

"No, I…I asked for this." Hailey sighed and grunted as J helped her up the steps into their home, and walked her through the halls to a room empty save for the mattress in the middle. He worked her over, sitting her down slowly and moving around the room. He reached each wall, opening their lamps and curling a hand over their candles to light them and the room around before returning to the girl.

"Are these on your arms the only wounds I gave you?" Hailey shook her head slowly, blinking and patting her legs softly.

"That sweep might have bruised me…and I think I scraped my back a bit from the falls…"

"Alright. Take off your shirt. I'll be right back." J paced out the room, heading into one adjacent to collect the medicine.

Hailey winced as she lifted her shirt from her body, peeling it off the skin and the small scrapes left from their fight. She dropped the fabric down in her lap, keeping the back of it to her to see the scratch marks left from the dirt and the sand. The grey half sleeved shirt had small cuts in it from her two falls, and she could do nothing but stare and reminisce in her memories, as little as they were. There were times she dreamed of the two who took care of her, and there were times she couldn't discern them from truth and fiction.

 _She couldn't tell if the dream of J, left alone in a dimly lit room, a knife in one hand and the clothes she first awoke in held by the other, and her crouched outside the door opened not even an inch, was real or fantasy._

The door behind her creaked closed, and she looked beyond her shoulder to see J walking in with a plate of the gods' medicine. He walked over and kneeled behind the girl and handed her a small plate, carrying but one chewy piece of ambrosia. "Take it slowly. I'll start with the one on your back so you can put your shirt back on." She complied with his suggestion, taking the small cube into her mouth and chewing it five seconds at a time. J, in the meantime, dipped his fingers in the saucer filled with nectar, and lifted his hand to the scrapes on her back. She gasped out as the medicine stung through her veins and had to put a hand over her mouth to keep from spilling her medicine. He traced over the wounds slowly, dripping small amounts of nectar onto them and watched as the skin stitched itself together again.

Hailey gulped down her ambrosia and shuddered at the heat that surged through her body. Her hands pulled at the fabric of her shirt, her eyes glossing over the dirt and cuts. "J?" Her voice was soft as the medicine swam in her stomach. The man in question hummed his acknowledgement and let Hailey continue. "Do you think we'll find my family?"

J's hand paused down her spine. His eyes raised from his fingers to look at the back of her neck. She didn't turn to look at him, and instead sat in his silence, unnerved. He sighed out his nose, sending shock through her body as the air brushed her shoulders. "Just because we're recruiting demigods for the fight doesn't mean we won't keep looking for you, Hailey," he responded. "We promised you we would find you your family, and we're not going back on that."

"Do you…" Hailey pulled her shirt onto her lap, folded over her knees. "Do you think they care about me, if they're out there?" Her hands curled into the shirt. "It's been a year…and no one's come up. Is…do you think they're still… _out_ there?"

An arm snaked over her shoulders, connecting from one side of her chest to the other, and she could feel the face press into the back of her head. "I promise you your family cares about you, whether they're out there or not. We'll find you your home, we'll find you your mother and father. We'll find the truth. Perseus and I promised you that." J lifted his head higher and set it atop hers. "We'll find you home. We'll continue to search, even with our new company. You haven't become any less important."

Hailey kept her eyes down on her shirt, pressing her lips into one another and staying silent as J looked beyond her. She didn't look up to see him. She didn't look to see his eyes gloss over. She didn't look to see him spare a glance down at her. She didn't look to see him frown before he even spoke. She didn't need to. "Now put your shirt on. The scrapes on your arms still need to heal, so let's apply some medicine to them too."


End file.
